Hippie Chick Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 My 3 year old Rhode Rock, Agnes, has successfully laid an egg today which appears normal. She remained in the egg box when I let them all out to free range but wandered out when I annoyed her by taking the eggs out of the box. She was having a good grumble at me when she had a bit of a normal poo (sorry) and also passed a tablespoon or so of clear jelly/thick egg white and 3 things that I can only describe as looking like baked beans. Apparently the baked beany things and the egg white was delicious She's seems OK in herself, she's with the others all having a group preening session, ran like a maniac to be first in the queue when she saw me approaching with tinned tuna (in spring water) and is walking OK, no limps or stiff gait. They were all wormed at the end of November. So, as long as she's OK in herself I'm more interested than worried. I can well believe that she's at the end of her egg laying life as she laid nearly every day for the first 2 years, all through the winter to the expense where she couldn't re-feather properly after moulting and despite my best efforts she's always been too thin. This winter she's had a break and re-feathered and put on some weight. She started egg laying again in January but maybe only 1 egg per week. She's very welcome to go into a healthy retirement! I think the jelly is egg white that hasn't had a shell formed around it, her bum is clean so it seems to have been self contained. The baked bean things at first I assumed to be bits of shed oviduct, hopefully due to age and not due to a bad infection (I'll keep a close eye on her). Now I'm wondering if they were small eggs that never formed, I can remember someone doing a dissection on their chicken when it died naturally and showing photos of the eggs inside her from tiny little things through to eggs ready to lay and it did remind me of that. But then again she laid a normal looking egg as well. Any thoughts or experiences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Sounds like your hunches are right - this sometimes happens towards the end of their laying career, when they tend to get blips in their production line. I wouldn't worry too much, just keep an eye on her - as you are doing - and make sure there's nowt hanging form her bum as this would pique the interest of the others and cause some pecking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Chick Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 Thanks Dogmother She's been perfectly fine since, no eggs but that's fine too. She's as ravenous as always and has way more energy than me, although she's been mightily unimpressed by the snow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
