Almost egg laying

Yesterday morning Dandelion seemed brighter first thing and she joined in with the morning sunflower seeds and had some mash. I decided not to bring her into the bathroom again as she was eating okay.

As the morning went on she started to look poorly again. By lunch time she had settled back in the nest box so I now think this is an egg related issue.

Emerald also sat in the nest box for a little while with a heap of pine shavings on her back. By the time I went back with my camera she had left the nest box and there was no egg.

Emerald looking in the nest box

Dandelion in the nest box again

Emerald must be feeling as if she wants to lay. She is very late this year and she only she has a short egg laying season. She usually lays from the beginning of March to the beginning of May so she is already half way through her laying season. I was beginning to think that perhaps she had stopped laying due to her age but you never know.

Speckles is still doing sloppy poops and still not laying. She laid five eggs in ten days at the beginning of March and hasn’t laid since. She is still obsessed with drinking rain drips from the weld mesh and I am guessing that until the weather changes she will continue like this. Unfortunately we are forecast another week of rain.

Speckles looks fine in every other way and still has a huge, red, comb so I am not going to worry too much. There is nothing I can do anyway.

We have never had so few eggs at this time of year. Apricot never started to lay and Dandelion is obviously struggling to start. Emerald and Speckles have always laid at this time of year before but as long as they are okay I am not bothered about that. It is more of a problem that Dandelion is having such a struggle to lay.

After several hours in the nest box Dandelion gave up once more without laying. I feel so helpless as there is nothing I can do to help her lay. I gave her some chopped grape to keep her strength up and once more dripped some tylan water into her beak as I hadn’t seen her drink.

There is nothing more I can do to help her but just wait to see if she will eventually get her egg laid.

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6 Responses to Almost egg laying

  1. Sophie says:

    I’ve soaked hens’ vents in warm water for about half an hour before now when a hen is struggling to lay an egg and that has worked but you will have to make sure you blow dry her afterwards – also I have had success just blow drying the vent area (you do have to blow dry in a circular motion so as not to burn the vent) and then putting the hen in a box – voila after ten minutes there was an egg! It just relaxes them and seems to work!

    xx

    • Dandelion hates being handled so I am wary of stressing her. I haven’t heard of blow drying the vent before. I would be afraid of harming her though. She seems to have perked up at the moment so I think for now I will just leave her to it. She hasn’t been in the nest box at all today.

  2. marion.pharo says:

    Lets hope she soon lays her egg, and get back to normal.

  3. David says:

    I am also getting the fewest eggs ever for the time of year, with several of my older girls not having started as yet. The weather is so miserable, however, that I wonder if that is partly to blame. We’ll be getting fewer again, as I had 3 broodies this morning!

    • Carol says:

      Once again you make me feel better to know that it isn’t just me. Freckles and Cinnamon laid today but both yesterday and today Freckles lingered on her egg until I lifted her out. She accepted being lifted out but was making the broody chuff chuff sound so I think she may be heading towards going broody.

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