[Monica]

Now, 1 week after I take the old eggs, she has laid another!! Still jsut on the bare bottom of the cage. I am worried she will burn herself out!
When you remove her eggs, you need to save them incase she starts up again, or buy plastic/wooden eggs. After you removed her eggs, did you change around her diet? Make sure she got at least 12-16 hours of sleep? Change around her cage? Perhaps change the location of her cage? Made it so that she could not nest down at the bottom? Here's a list I've created...

1. Remove Eggs
   • Rearrange the cage
   • Perhaps move the cage to a new location
   • Use a cage grate
   • Get a new cage
   • 12-14 hours of complete darkness
   • Decreace calcium and protein within the diet
   • Remove anything that could be taken as a nest
   • Remove anything that could be used as nesting material
   • Don't allow her in any dark place or enclosed area
   • IMPORTANT: save the eggs in the fridge
   • If she lays more than 3-4 eggs, put them back in the cage
2. Leave the Eggs
   • Leave the eggs alone in the cage
   • [Optional] Replace with fake eggs (prevent eggs from breaking)
   • Increase calcium
   • Let hen sit on eggs for 3-4 weeks or until she gets bored of them
   • Once done sitting, toss

She is sitting on it and she looks like cr@p! She is all puffed up. I don't think she is sick, she still eats like a little piggie!! But she has lost a little weight. She was 70g (fattie overweight) and is now 63g.
She's lost weight because her non-existent mate is supposed to feed her most of her food while she's incubating her eggs.

1. How long should I leave the eggs this time?
   • Leave the eggs for at least 3-4 weeks or until she gets bored of them
2. I have a lizard calcium supplement which is ground (powder fine) oyster shells and vitamin d. What is in bird calcium? Is it the same? Could I use it for her also? (I am not being cheap but why buy two things if they are the same inside except one has picture of a lizard and one a bird)
   • I don't know if there are any differences between the two, and without being able to see the products to compare, I'd just recommend buying a bird calcium supplement, although you can also increase the amount of calcium she gets via fresh foods, such as veggies that contain calcium, as well as feeding cooked eggs.
3. How can I make it up to her stealing her tail feathers! I feel like a bad birdie mum
   • She will also need a bit more protein so you can try and make sure she eats 1 part pulses/legumes mixed with 2 parts grains.
4. How much weight loss is normal when laying eggs?
   • I can't give an accurate answer here since we are speaking of a hen who is supposed to be fed by her mate. However, I do believe that a hen should not be loosing any weight, and if she is and is not feeling well then allowing her to sit on her eggs may cause her health to decline, to it may be within the hens best interest to strongly discourage her from egg-laying.