One of our new girls, Veronica, hasn't quite grasped the concept of sitting down when laying an egg. She seems to think that the higher the elevation, the better the egg. Either I am going to have to equip Veronica with a thong, or get chickens with shorter legs. I'm tired of cleaning out a nest box because Veronica is playing bomber pilot!
The trials and tribulations of a chicken farmer. Deeper nest? How about a lower roof? A lead jacket so she can only sit? A training pen till she gets use to using the nest correctly? Maybe she does not like her nest location. Does she need a vacation? Maybe she does not like her position in the pecking order. Is she mad at the chicken below her? Do hens each have 'their own' nest? Jerry(city slicker)
I never heard of a chicken not knowoing how to lay and egg. Even we know how to do that. At that rate she could end up in a stew pot instead of a nest box.
Oh, no, no stew pot for our ladies! My husband says we are going to have geriatric hens with canes and hearing aids playing bingo! I think Veronica doesn't get the whole nest box idea. We just put shredded paper in the boxes, hoping that they won't eat the bedding like they do dwhen we use hay or grass clippings. We have two college graduates with a lot of life experience trying to out-think a bunch of hens. Go figure!
I never had a chicken do that. I wonder what her problem is with the boxes. Maybe you could try putting kitty litter in the boxes. It's absorbent and would make it easier to clean the boxes. dooley
I have tried hay, straw, grass clippings, hamster bedding and all of it gets kicked out of the boxes. Now I am trying shredded paper that my husband brought home from work. Maybe the shredded computer print-outs will bore Veronica to the point that she sits! None of the other hens do this stand-up routine. Jewell, your dog and Veronica just might be related!
Jane, Have you watched her do this? some hens intentionally break their egg to eat the yolk. I have one who does and it drives me crazy! I HATE soiled eggs. My hens do "squat" to lay an egg, meaning they aren't sitting on the nest, more standing, when they are in the process of laying it. Is the shell more fragile than the other eggs and breaks when other hens get in the box? or a soft shelled egg? just a few thoughts. IF you have an intentional egg breaker, blow an egg out of the shell and refill the shell with mustard, leaving that in the box for her. Hens hate mustard and she may not do this again if this is the situation and she gets a beak full of mustard instead of yolk. .
As a city slicker watching from the sidelines chicken farming is fascinating. From the confines of my easy chair I now know how to break up a chicken fight, learned that chicken meat has more tension than beef(I can see why chickens are up tight), and been ringside as one group of chickens meet another. Now the plot thickens as I learned that it is possible to blow an egg out of it's shell and that chickens don't like mustard(wait till I tell that one at the supermarket) I can't wait for the next thrilling chapter about the life and times of Veronica, flying Ace of the barnyard. Jerry
Carolyn, yes I've seen her drop her egg! Those are good suggestions, and I did have an egg-eater in my first flock. Rosie decided she liked eggs, so I put a glass darning egg in the nestbox. It broke her of the habit. I'll try the mustard trick next time. Veronica's egg's shell seems to be as sturdy as the others. I even checked her legs to see if she had a problem, and she doesn't. I think she is just what we call mentally challenged (and for a chicken, that is REALLY challenged). The shredded paper is staying in the nest boxes, so I have hopes.
This is going to sound cold but I will say it any way. It's not the chicken here that needs training, it's the chicken-farmers. Many times an animal needs to be culled from your flock in order for things to run smoothly. You don't have to eat it, you can sell/trade it or whatever, you're the boss. I myself wouldn't want to spend a lot of extra time on a non-typical laying hen, not worth it TO ME.
You're right rockhound, that did sound cold! Our chickens are pets that lay eggs, and Veronica has quite a personality that I would miss. Fortunately, yesterday her egg was unbroken and none of the hens kicked the bedding out of the nest boxes. It looks like we (chicken farmer and chickens) are perfectly compatible again!
I think maybe your hen just needs some guidance. I used golf balls in the nesting boxes to teach my hens early that "this is where eggs go". It has paid off, and might help you as well.I Hope veronica straightens out.
