Two Different Egg Problems:
The top photo is of an usually small egg. The very small egg is less than half the size of the plastic egg below it.
Question 1: How do you explain this small egg when the rest of this hens eggs were normal sized?
The bottom photo is of a egg broken when another hen flung it out of the nest and it just happened to land in her dish of hemp seed..
Question 2: What is the usual reason that hens throw eggs out of the nest during incubation?
Please send your answers before 10:00 am Saturday as a comment to this post. Come on Guys and Gals, please participate!! No right answers were received before the Saturday deadline so the deadline is extended till I get a right answer!! It's now noon on Sunday and still no answer. Please jump in and win this one!!
After three days, I still do not have a winner so I will answer and declare myself the winner or the loser as it is a real discouraging loss to me when I do not hear from you!
Answer to Question 1: The process of egg formation is under hormonal control. The hen that laid the small egg had laid three normal sized eggs prior to the small one. This egg did not have any yolk! It is not a very common occurrence and hens that lay a yolk less egg stop laying. She is currently sitting on two eggs having pushed one out of the nest. I am considering stopping her from sitting as I noticed that yesterday she was sleeping excessively on the nest and likely will not eat enough to keep from loosing too much weight. On occasion a hen will lay all smaller sized eggs but they have a yolk and develop and hatch normally. A few years ago, one of my bronze hens each year laid normal small complete eggs. Her normal clutch was eight small eggs and all hatched but only because I fostered some to other hens! I have a couple of roller hens that have laid seven eggs each. That is too many to cover and turn well.
Answer to Question 2: The usual reason that a hen throws an egg out of the nest during incubation is it is infertile and she realizes that sitting on it is futile! Infertile eggs can be a problem if the nest is too full but that seems to have nothing to do with her pitching an infertile egg out of the nest. Most of the time, infertile eggs are helpful as they provide the chick with some protection in the before banding phase. If there are not infertile eggs in the nest, when the chicks hatch, I place a couple of plastic eggs in the nest till banding.
Second Notice, Don't forget to send me your entry for the Canary Blog Easter Parade, In Your Easter Bonnet. Details are in the March 22 posting. So far, I have only received a couple of entries so please respond promptly! I look forward to hearing more from you!!
I have two canaries and the female must of laid around 15 eggs which i could account for not broken ones. Then gladly she stopped laying and has been happy sharing a cage with the male. Woke this morning to the shock to find what looks like the smallest egg i have seen. It is no bigger than a single kernal of maize corn. Is this a record or is this the norm.
ReplyDeleteIt is not normal and you got the right post that addresses this. It has been laid with no yolk.
ReplyDeleteBroken eggs in the nest are usually poor shells.
Hens also will throw out infertile eggs of her nest.
If this keeps up she is high risk for egg binding. Her calcium/phosphorus needs to be address and the infertility.