oooh. Im so curious who it came from.

The mystery egg has been removed from production because there's a high probability that it's Teela's. She laid an egg during the night, and it looks more like one of hers than one of Shodu's. It's the right shape to be a Mims egg too, but her eggs are infertile anyway so it doesn't matter. I don't know whether this egg was fertile and I don't want to know since it wouldn't be right to let it hatch. I'm sorry, little egg.

Why wouldn't it be right to let it hatch?

Because it could be an incest baby since it's a mystery. Inbred chicks could have deformities and hidden health issues that could lead to an early or painful death. If it was an incest baby, it was safe to dispose of it, so it wouldn't have to come into the world suffering. She didn't know, nor did she want to take that chance, so it was just safer that way.

If it was Teela's egg it was definitely an incest baby since Teela is paired up with Squeebis her brother. Brother-sister pairs are considered to be the highest risk for problems, more so than parent-child pairs. Shodu's eggs tend to be a little smaller than the other hens and this was a nice big egg. So once I knew for sure that Teela had started laying eggs it immediately seemed more likely that it was hers than Shodu's.

Oh. I forgot the relations between Teela and her mate.

If hen is given a nest, she would probably lay all her eggs inside it, right? I just mean that possibility that someone who is allowed to breed laid this egg isn't very high, just a suggestion. SO it must be somebody who isn't given a nest. Just thoughts

I am wondering for myself if I am ever in the same situation, what do you do about Teela laying eggs at this point, except for not letting her incubate them? I mean, when eggs are removed, it can cause her to lay more, right?

I use the long nights treatment on both males and females who want to breed without permission. I was already using it on Teela when she started laying eggs, but I didn't start soon enough and that's why she started laying eggs. She seems to have stopped now though after laying just two of them because I kept up with the long nights. It's a great technique when it's used correctly.

The use of hormone control is probably the reason that she and Squeebis didn't pay any attention to either one of the eggs after they were laid - their hormone levels had already been reduced enough for them to lose their motivation to take care of the eggs. They've stopped tearing up newspaper too.

Having a nest definitely increases the chances that a hen will lay eggs. But some hens will lay eggs whether they have a nest or not, and Shodu and Teela are both like that.