Solitary chicken - need advice

[Justadmin]

Hi all,

 

Billina started laying about a month and a half ago and has pretty much been laying one a day, very, very early in the morning. Then over the last week she has occasionally skipped a day and laid every other day. She laid a perfectly normal egg in the nest box yesterday, but then this evening I found her egg on the floor in the run, in the back corner near the water. And it was all dusty coloured, like a white kind of chalky dust. It doesn't come off if you rub it but if I scratch at it then it comes away a little to reveal the normal egg colour beneath. Is this normal? A quick Google tells me that it might just be excess calcium, not sure where from though. Anything else that might cause it? She's fine in herself - eating, drinking, pooping like normal. No weird behaviour, except this!

 

Any ideas? Many thanks!

[Justadmin]

Update - this morning she laid a normal coloured egg with a nice hard shell, but it was a bit "ridged" and wavy, not really really wrinkly like you see some photos of online, but a bit like that. Again, she seems absolutely fine in herself. I did ask her what she was up to (as you do!) but I got no response, suprisingly. Just an indignant look.

 

I wonder if it's something to do with the early mornings, this wrinkly egg was already laid (and cold so must have been a while) when I went out at 5.45 this morning.

 

Any ideas? Don't want my best girl to be poorly!

[sjp]

it's not uncommon for new layers to lay poor quality eggs or 2 in one day which is why the second egg was poor quality it got laid a bit early they will miss a day or 2 every now and again if they are good layers and only lay every other day or every few days if they are poor layers

if poor quality eggs i.e weak shelled ones continue put either life guard tonic in the water or cod liver oil in the feed