I have had more oddly shaped eggs with this batch of pullets than i ever witnessed from the last two groups combined. fairy eggs, hard eggs that appear to be crinkled as if made of fabric, wrinkled eggs, eggs that appear to have been cracked and then sealed over at some point…eggs with extra bits of shell covering already developed shell at the tip of the egg…. They appear to still be edible, except that the fairy eggs dont have yolks, but its been a strange batch of eggs this year. Im not sure whether its the feed, their genetics, both or something else entirely but nobody seems to be hurt for it so im unbothered by the strange detail. Maybe they’ll lay a smaller ratio of odd ones as they get older. If not, the weird eggs still taste the same, according to the dogs.
That’s so weird! Do you have any advice for chickens that have randomly stopped laying? Mine haven’t laid a full sized egg in a couple months.
Some people hang christmas lights in their coop in the winter to try to make chickens lay longer but i have orpingtons which is a breed of chicken that typically lays eggs all through the winter so i dony worry about that. When mine stop producing i find its usually because they are about to or are already molting. When they molt their feathers their bodies are busy making new feathers and they typically dont make eggs during this time. When mine quit laying, if i know my chickens are healthy and my feed is balanced i just assume theyre either molting or stressed (sometimes 102 degree temperatures do this). If theyre stressed i provide frozen vegetables for them to peck at and make ice water for them. If its a molt i leave them be. Sometimes chickens dont lay and thats just part of nature. Their bodies are amazing but sometimes they need rest. I just let them do their thing and when they’re done molting or they’re not overheated, they lay again. If they quit eating and look in distress they might have a stuck egg but thats usually a one chicken thing. If all the chickens arent laying id put my money on a molt.
Eventually they’ll hit chicken menopause but i always keep the older chickens around because they teach the new pullets how to look for and deal with hawks, foxes, coons, possums, snakes, and coyotes. They also show the pullets where to sit to lay eggs. They train em up a bit. If you put all the old ladies in the pot when they stop laying it’ll be your job as the rancher to train the new young ladies, and thats just too much work, especially since im usually sleeping at the hour predators are trying to break into the coop.
thanks! that was very helpful
I just have two chickens and five ducks, so I’m thinking on replacing the two hens with two more ducks
If you do get a couple more ducks id put them in a little chicken tractor or pen beside the big pen the ducks are in and let them see each other and talk to each other through the fence for a while before putting them in with the original group…that way theyre less likely to outright reject them.