A very strange phenomenon

It seems that Vanilla had completely regressed to being a chick. A weird thing happened yesterday. I saw Vanilla checking out the nest boxes in the morning. I wondered if she was getting ready to lay again. It has been three weeks since she last laid. After briefly going broody she started behaving like a chick to Flame.

I know that after being broody the girls take a break before laying again but I wondered if it would be the same after regressing to being a chick.

It was a very busy morning with egg laying. Jasmine laid first thing and then Cinnamon laid soon after. Salmon and Smoke shared a nest box and laid their eggs side by side. Marmite settled in the nest box and she always takes ages.

Spangle hasn’t laid for twelve days. I am not sure why Spangle isn’t laying which is a bit worrying but she looks fine. I had to go out and when I returned Marmite was out in the run. I checked the nest box and her egg was there alongside a tiny egg like the “first eggs” most of the seramas have laid.

I can only think that Vanilla has laid as if it’s her first egg again. This is the most serama eggs we have ever had in one day with only one girl not laying so this egg could only be from Vanilla or Spangle and as Spangle isn’t laying and hasn’t looked in a nest box today but Vanilla was looking in the nest box I think that it must be Vanilla’s egg.

Yesterday’s eggs with the tiny egg on the right

I think this must be Vanilla’s egg

It seems that Vanilla had so firmly regressed to being a chick that she has laid a “first” tiny egg again. That’s the only explanation I can think of. We seem to be having weird behaviour from our girls. It will be interesting to see if Vanilla lays again soon. Hopefully this will mean she has grown up again!

Last night I checked on the girls at half past seven. They were all out in the run except for Flame. I looked in the chicken shed and Flame was sitting in the middle of the floor spread out as wide as she could make herself. So it seems that it is Flame now continuing with this, waiting for Vanilla to come to her.

I put Flame in the crate and when I checked the girls at dusk Vanilla was perched up with the rest of the amigos. I will continue to separate Flame at bedtime until she starts perching again.

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5 Responses to A very strange phenomenon

  1. david says:

    Pleased that things are settling down – Flame will re-normalise soon, I’m sure. That’s a lovely sight of serama eggs; when you crack the tiny one, please let us know if there was a yolk – often, with eggs of that size, there’s only a white – I had one a fortnight ago, having no idea who had laid it, but it only contained some white.

  2. Carol says:

    I cracked it yesterday and added it to our breakfast eggs in the frying pan. It was actually nearly all yolk. I did take a photo but I didn’t give the camera time to focus and it came out blurred so I didn’t use it. I could do a short post with a blurred photo if you would like to see it?

  3. Carol says:

    I decided to go ahead an do a post showing the terrible blurred photo.

  4. marion says:

    I did miss this post, Such a tiny egg, but as you say little eggs are nearly all yolk.

    • Carol says:

      I thought you had missed this because it is unlike you not to comment. Vanilla has now laid a few proper sized eggs and laid again today with a good sized egg. It is so good to have her back to normal and she is now laying in the nest box instead of the shed.

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