sadieatthebridge Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 I have three chickens, all just over a year old and all laying regularly. They are, in order of bossiness: Hetty, gingernut ranger; Margot, columbine; and Adelaide, speckledy. Yesterday I found a smashed egg in the hen house. It was white so I know it was Margot's. Today I found a smashed egg and a lot of poo in the nest box. This one was Hetty's as she was the only one who slept in the house last night and she favours sleeping in that nest box (though she usually lays in the other box). My first question is: are they smashed eggs? Rather than defective eggs? The shells were flattened, but still a bit crunchy. And the contents of the egg were soaked into the Easibed/straw. Are they eating them? I go out to the chickens several times a day. The first egg could've been missed for a few hours as it was in the house rather than the nest box. I clear the house of poo every day without fail, so I suppose theoretically it could've been there for 24 hours. Or could they have smashed the eggs by accident? It seems a bit of a coincidence that that would happen two days in a row... Any ideas? I'm new to this chicken-keeping business and it is proving a steep learning curve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 more than likely a bit of clumsiness or squabbling over nest time but they will eat a broken egg which can occasionally lead to them 'testing' eggs to see if they'll brake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 When they lay an egg they tap it with their beak, I assume to see if it's viable (someone may correct me on that) I had a problem when one of my girls did this and she laid a thin shelled egg and she obviously broke in to the egg, got a taste for it and became a real pain! Not because of the lost egg but more because of the mess they leave behind!! I tried fake eggs, mustard....nothing worked but she did grow out of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadieatthebridge Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 Thanks guys. Is it safe to assume that the eggs were broken healthy eggs rather than soft-shelled eggs? The shell seemed flattened, but still crunchy. I'm a little bit worried about Hetty. She has been quiet today and i just found her roosting under the hen house - she never does this. She is always first to bed and always sleeps in the house. I gave her a quick once over. She felt okay to my inexperienced hands. Her bum felt normal and squidgy, as did her crop. But she wouldn't take a grape out of my hand Hopefully that was because she was already sleepy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadieatthebridge Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Right, I have an update... Thankfully, this morning found Hetty quite chirpy, though she was second out of the house which is unusual. However, we did find 2 soft-shells: one under the house and one under a perch in the house (with some poo). Could these both be from Hetty? She is a prolific layer. Is it possible for them to lay more than one soft-shell per day? And do they sometimes just appear with poo? Hetty ate her porridge today then wandered off to the nest box. I have checked since and she hasn't laid anything. I'll re-check in a while. They are fed Garvo layers pellets as recommended by the breeder we bought them from. I have just changed their oyster shell to Feathers & Beaky, but presumably that shouldn't make a difference. Not sure how much grit they actually eat though. They get other s"Ooops, word censored!"s, porridge every day and, since the restrictions lifted, they free range for an hour or two daily. Off to Google soft-shells now, but any advice from experienced chicken keepers would be much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Shell production needs vitamin D, Calcium and Phosphorous Sadie. If the Calcium / Phosphorous balance is upset with too much Calcium it will have the opposite effect you want with the shells, so oyster shell grit may be the problem. Vitamin D comes from sunlight and cod liver oil if necessary. The Calcium goes from the feed to the bones where it is stored and then from the bones to the oviduct to coat the egg, so there is a complex process which can easily go wrong. We've had hens peck their own eggs to test the shell; I've seen it first hand, but not all of them do it. We have had hens that pick eggs out of another nest box and take them to theirs to sit on. Quite how they manage it I don't know? Rats will also take eggs out of the nest boxes as will magpies I've heard. I wouldn't give them porridge at all now. We used to do that but were advised not to so now we sometimes make a wet mash of pellets as a treat and leave it for them for 2 hours maximum as it goes off quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadieatthebridge Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Thanks Beantree. Is it the milk that is a problem with porridge? I have recently started to make it with water as I read dairy wasn't good for chickens. I've been back out to see them and Hetty looks good. I'll keep a close eye on her over the next few days but fingers crossed it's nothing too sinister. We've only had the chickens for 9 months and we had our first death within 3 weeks I don't want to go through that again any time soon.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadieatthebridge Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Oh, and Margot stopped laying so regularly a couple of weeks ago. She was never as prolific as Hetty, perhaps 4 eggs pw, but she suddenly stopped for a week, laid on 17/3, then stopped and laid on 23/3 and 24/3 and hasn't laid since. Could this be connected? Or is she just starting a moult? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 there should be enough calcium in the Garvo as not to need more I'd give they a couple of handfuls of meal worms for a few days if that doesn't work get some life guard tonic that normally dose the trick go easy on the extra calcium through I learned the hard way with a pullet that was to young to go on to layers she showed all the symptoms of lack of calcium but after advice from a couple of members of practical poultry forum that I'd should get her onto growers ration as soon as she turned the corner fairly quickly now I don't put out mixed grit very often they do get dandelion leaves as a treat in the spring and early summer if there's any in the front lawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadieatthebridge Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Thanks sjp. I actually ran out of mealworms last week but bought some more today. I'll try that first then get some Life Tonic if things don't improve. Hetty was out and about today and running for treats so I'm just pleased she's okay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Mine love sunflower seeds. The ones that don't free range also get greens. I got a couple of shell less eggs from one of mine recently, but now I'm up to about 12 a day. Mine are on Fancy Feed. For some reason they don't like stuff in their water. Have you wormed or had a worm count done recently (sorry if this has already been asked) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadieatthebridge Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 Thanks chickabee. I worked them with Flubenvet at the beginning of the month. Thankfully Hetty is much improved today. She's laid a proper egg - a bit lumpy on the shell, but looks normal enough, and she's been pecking around like normal. I did a bit of digging for her this morning so she had herself a few tasty worms which will have helped on the protein front Hopefully she's back to normal, thank goodness. Margot however, hasn't laid for a week. Should I be worried about that? She's laid once or twice a week this month after being a 4 pw layer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadieatthebridge Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 Ooops, wormed.... bloody autocorrect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 As long as they look healthy and are eating drinking etc., I wouldn't worry. She may have come to the end of her laying time (being an ex bat), or having a moult. I had 4 ex bats 3 laid til the end 1 laid for a short while then stopped. They have bright light in their barns to encourage them to lay more. Then their ovaries get worn out. Just keep them happy and safe. Mine loved free ranging and bossing me around til the end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
