Can you leave them in the coop until after laying time? I had a stubborn girl lay in the same spot outdoors until she discovered how cushy it could be to lay in the nice nest boxes we built them and now she lays indoors :)
One of my easter eggers first egg came out like this:
Whoops! Her second egg couldn't have been more perfect though. I have officially got at least 6 layers as I got 12 eggs between two days (we were out of town from yesterday afternoon until this afternoon) woot!
Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelledalgae. It is used as a filtration aid, mild abrasive in products including toothpaste, mechanical insecticide, absorbent for liquids, matting agent for coatings, reinforcing filler in plastics and rubber...
Not sure how thick the shelf liner stuff is but I know you can get like car floor mats that are pretty solid and could withstand a lot of wear and tear
You will still most likely get some still since 21 weeks isn't terribly old to not be laying yet... give them a couple more weeks and they will probably be giving you some eggs. My first girls started at 21 and 19 weeks but the rest took up to 23+ ? As I have 2 that haven't laid yet
The first couple weeks with my girls they would lay eggs wherever they happened to be hanging out until they caught on to the nest box/coop corner (only inches out of the nest box and typically used when someone else was taking too long in their favorite nest box) one even was laying them in the...
My roo began harassing the girls days before they started laying but some of them have yet to lay... unfortunately they aren't enough of gentlemen to care if the ladies are ready yet or not ;)
Has she just begun laying recently? Is the roost removable that you could take it away during the day or at least until after she lays her egg? If not thick straw beneath and moving her to the nesting area whenever possible may be your only option... she should figure it out though!
My guess is different hen since the shade and hue are so different from each other. Egg size can vary especially in the first few eggs. Congrats they are beautiful!