Single hen

[parmaviolet]

As a new omleteer, I wonder if anyone can tell me if it is normal for Audrey to be laying at vastly differing times?

 

She's laid at 10am, 2.30pm, midday, each day at a different time but with no pattern to it. One day she didn't lay until between 3.30-4.30. Is this just something that will happen until she settles into a routine or should I just get used to checking every two hours?

 

She is a bit of a tease, going into the eglu for upto 30 minutes then appearing again, having not 'done' anything. She sometimes does this a few times before we get a result! Funny girl.

[Mrs Frugal]

We call Clarissa "Clockwork Clarry" because she lays at the same time every day without fail but Jennifer is another matter. She doesn't seem to have a regular laying time yet.

 

She's been broody twice which was a nuisance as we'd just got used to a regular supply of eggs. She's temperamental at the moment because we've moved the Eglu from its usual place at the bottom of the garden to a new site near the house for winter and she can't remember where to lay her eggs! The last few days, I've had to pop her into the Eglu and shut the pop hole so she doesn't keep going in and out all day until she's laid her egg - it usually doesn't take long but she is a tease like your Audrey! She missed one day completely - whether it was the Eglu move or the fact that it was such a miserable day that there was hardly any light - but when I opened the Eglu in the morning she'd already laid an egg. I don't know whether she'd done it during the night or it was an early morning urge!

 

I hope your girls get into a routine. It is a bit awkward having to check for deliveries all the time. I'm sure come Spring, they'll have got the hang of it - hope so anyway!

 

Kate, the clockwork one and the temperamental one!

[Guest]

No - ours don't have a regular time either. At one stage they both laid between 10am and midday for about a week then changed their minds!.

 

We, also, have had the one in the eglu when letting them out in the morning and a broken one which I think they'd been playing football with!

 

Tallulah still hasn't laid yet today.

 

Lesley

Stratford upon Avon

[Val]

Lucille (Gingernut) has always laid early, about 6.30-7am. Esmerelda (Pepperpot) used to lay about 10-10.30am, but she is now generally about 7.30am. I think this is because she now knows they don't get let out until they have laid!

 

Esmerelda has laid without missing a single day since she started in July. Lucille has missed a couple of days (after the experience of laying her first double-yolker). They are very prolific and our friends and neighbours are very happy!

 

Val

[Richard]

Hi

 

Georgina used to be really regular at around 11 am, with Doris following after her. Georgina then started being a bit later each day until one day she missed an egg (the only day since July that we haven't had two eggs). then they got into a new routine; Doris has laid her egg by the time we let them out (usually around 7 am). Georgina goes in the Eglu at around 9 and sits there for up to an hour peeking out of the door and contemplating the world at large.

[Sue1411]

I think I read somewhere (maybe on the Omlet pages) that it takes 25 hours to form and lay an egg so therefore in theory a hen should lay at a slightly later time each day and then miss the odd day (assuming they don't at night).

 

This seemed to be the case with Penelope when she first started laying, but that has now gone to pot as she lays her egg in the afternoon and Felicity lays her egg every day without fail between 6am and 7am (which bizarrely is when she is still in the dark)

 

So far we've gone 2 months with no break in laying - I'm worried they're going to burn out!

[Martin]

Blimey, your chickens are indeed like clockwork compared to ours! We've given up checking for eggs until dusk now. And we'll either have zero, one or two eggs, depending on their mood. I haven't worked out any particular pattern about them - except that if we get no eggs one day, we tend to get two fairly early the next day.

 

It sounds like most of you are getting a regular fourteen eggs a week? We are probably getting nine or ten. Are we doing something wrong? I thought we should expect fewer eggs as the days draw in.

[Mary Fisher]

It sounds like most of you are getting a regular fourteen eggs a week? We are probably getting nine or ten. Are we doing something wrong? I thought we should expect fewer eggs as the days draw in.

 

Don't worry, Martin, chickens in 'natural' conditions vary a lot in their laying patterns. Those who have one a day per hen are lucky but it won't last.

 

Light levels do influence laying, which is why intensive egg producers use lamps in their horrid sheds to work the poor birds very hard for their short lives. Any bird which isn't up to snuff is discarded no matter what her age.

 

We Eglu owners care about our hens, they have more to offer than being egg machines, the eggs are a bonus not a prime function.

 

At the moment we're not getting any eggs and I'm not sure when or even if they'll come back into lay but in our case that's not important, we use very few.

 

Enjoy your hens!

 

Mary

[Mrs Frugal]

Mary, I agree wholeheartedly.

 

Our hens are pets first and the eggs are a very pleasant reward for spoiling them rotten. The number of eggs we are getting at the moment is rather erratic. Clarissa hasn't missed a day since she arrived but she didn't lay the day before yesterday but is back on schedule today but for how long, I don't know. I don't mind one bit. We use all the eggs we get from our girls - usually 14 a week - and buy some from an organic free range local farmer as I bake for England but when our egg levels drop, I'll just buy more and support our local hen friendly farmer instead. No worries....

 

Kate, Jenny and Clarry

[Richard]

Hi

 

My girls are incredibly regular. Doris (gingernut) has laid her egg by the time I get up (usually around 6 am). Georgina (pepperpot) goes into the Eglu around 10 ish and sits there for up to an hour looking out of the door, eventually producing her egg.

 

they weren't always like this - doris used to be later in the day (and, as with everything she does, it was all done in a massive rush in between dashes around the garden to terrorise the rhubard or scratch the leeks out.).

[caz&co]

With our ladies, Henrietta (Miss Pepperpot) has normally been a regular layer, only missing one day since starting about 20th April. She normally lays in the morning, often mid to late, so not the always the same time.

 

However, Ginger (Gingernut Ranger) has been very erratic, sometimes laying a normal egg in the morning. She has sometimes laid another egg, or even two more in the afternoon and evening, although these tend to have soft "shells" and often mean no egg the following day. She has also laid some big eggs, which have often been double yolks. One Sunday, she laid "Siamese" eggs. The two had brittle shells, flat down the side where they were next to each other with a small area of the two that joined the two eggs.

 

Whilst Henrietta's shells are normally very thick, Ginger's are often thin, or brittle, assuming that they are not the soft-shells.

 

Do young birds often start their laying like this and does it normally settle after a while? If so, how long before we can expect her pattern to sort itself out?

[Lesley]

What a strange assortment of eggs Caroline! How long has Ginger been laying now?

[caz&co]

One of the hens started on around the 19th or 20th April and the other started the following day. I think it was nearly a week before we worked out that the hens lay different coloured eggs to each other.

[Lesley]

I would have thought she'd settle by now but if she seems well in herself and isn't listless or tail down then I shouldn't worry yet.

 

Jane is around and has much more experience of this sort of thing - hopefully she will have more advice.

[motherhen]

I would have expected Ginger to have settled down by now. It is just that her body hasn't got the timing of the production of the different elements of the egg in proper sequence. There is a very good description of how an egg is produced on the omlet website and if you read this you'll realise what is happening.

 

The good news is that the eggs will be edible. The bad news is that soft shelled ones often get broken and you'll need to be alert for egg eating - just messy as long as it doesn't progress to egg breaking.

 

If she is otherwise well then there isn't really anything you can do I'm afraid. With it being the timing of the egg production rather than a lack of calcium in her diet, I doubt if too many edible treats are contributing. Whether she will get things sorted and lay one nice shelled egg per day, I'm afraid there is no way of telling. You could contact the person who supplied her, or omlet if she came from them. With this sort of internal problem, often you would be offered a swap. However you may feel she is now part of your family and would prefer to keep her even if her egg production problem continues. Why not have a chat with her supplier, and see what they think about the chances of recovery. These super laying hybrid hens are new to me - I keep thinking mine should have a few days off from laying for a rest - so my experience with pure breeds and mongrels may not be so applicable here.

 

Good luck, and do please let us know how things go so we can all learn from your experience

[Sheilaz]

If its any reassurance, I had a spate of weird eggs early on, including more than one a day sometimes. A selection of shell-less, misformed, colourless, papery & even a normal egg within another broken shell! It only lasted a couple of weeks & with hindsight I'm sure it was just the egg production going into overdrive!

Of course, just check all the usual; enough grit, shell, layers mash/pellets & water. If so, I think it will settle soon.

[caz&co]

The hens arrived with the Eglu on Easter Saturday. Thank you for the advise, I'll have to talk to someone in the Omlet office again. In the meantime, I'll have to keep a record of Ginger's eggs.

 

You are right about her being one of the family, although she still doesn't seem to like being stroked or handled. She also drinks less than her friend and Henrietta seemed to cope with the hot weather better than her on Monday.

[Stickybeaks]

Caroline, it sounds as though your and mine are from the same clutch. Elsie our is a regular layer and has only had one day off since she started laying at the beginning of May. Betsy started laying a few days later, and after a promising start lays only two or three times a week. Sometimes she lays early in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon or evening or even during the night. If she lays late, we get either nothing the next day or a soft shelled. This week she has laid only two good eggs. She also eats her own soft shelled eggs . I was hoping it was just an erratic cycle to start off with but I think it's just the way it is. Unfortunately, she's the greedier of the two hens so there is a slight disparity as to what goes in and what come out (except in the case of poo) .

[ChookieCaz]

Ginger appears to have settled down a lot more, although not completely, since we got a third hen, Lizzie. Her shells still appear to be thinner and lighter in colour.

[compostwoman]

Is it ok to eat a thin shelled one? I have just collected an egg from the eglu - laid by Ginger, probably just after lunch...iy looked perfect .until I looked at the pointed end where the shell was very thin, and there is a small "stalk" of something..either leaky egg white OR shell - its hard to tell!

 

Is it ok to eat this or should I throw it or offer it to the cat ( or even to Ginger???)

 

Help!

[beach chick]

cant answer the thin shell question, but Tara (Bluebell) laid her first egg on Thurs, found it about 9pm. 2nd one on Fri afternoon, 3rd 11.30ish Sat am, and the 4th this morning about 10.30am!!! which doesnt quite fit with the 25 hours to develop an egg scenario, which I read about on the omlet site. all power to that chook I say. am totally convinced she is the only laying at present, as the others still look too immature compared to her. currently trying to work out who will be next, thought it would be one of the silver sussexes but now I think the other bluebelle might get in ahead of them

[compostwoman]

Sorry didn't mean to post my thin eggshell question here

 

Put it on the wrong tread by mistake!

[ChookieCaz]

If your thin-shelled eggs are caused by erratic laying, then I don't see why it is inappropriate to ask your question here.

 

When Ginger laid her thin or even shell-less eggs, if they were intact, we ate them. If they were leaking, I thought it best to give them to my parents' dogs. When she laid several eggs in a day, that was bad news as she was then more likely to lay an egg that might be unusable, or the other two hens would get there first and they sometimes appeared to be waiting for the eggs!

 

Hope your question has now been answered.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I'm so jealous - I've given up checking for eggs altogether . Molly laid 10 eggs over a 2 week period but stopped 3 weeks ago. The other 2 haven't started yet (although they are quite young so I am trying to be patient!)

[ChookieCaz]

If they are off-lay, I wonder if it could be the time of year? Henrietta and Lizzie are now probably around 2 1/2 to 3 years old, so producing less eggs. We haven't seen any from them since the end of July, although Lizzie kept going in the Eglu today and there was some rather strange, but amusing behaviour. Perhaps I should post it in a different thread.

 

Last year, Lizzie's eggs were perhaps not so much erratic as occasional, Ginger was erratic, as it was throughout her life and Henrietta stopped laying earlier in the Summer and only came back into lay at the beginning of November.

 

I hope your hens and mine start laying again soon and that they are regular. it is a bit embarrassing to have to buy eggs!

 

Apart from lack of eggs, do your hens appear to be energetic and happy?