First egg or just an abnormal from older hen.

[twinklemama]

I currently have 40 chickens, 6 that are between 2 and 4 years old. Then 34 babies (1 turned out to be a roo).

Anyway, my babies are 16 weeks old and I got this today. The adults have never laid an egg this small before, though my oldesy hen did lay a soft shelled egg about a week ago.

Could this been a first egg from one of the babies? I know it isn't from the EE chicks so that eliminates 12 birds. The egg was yolkless.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

What breed(s) are your older hens and what breed(s) are your younger birds? Is the color of the odd egg new/different from what you've been getting or just the size?

 

[twinklemama]

What breed(s) are your older hens and what breed(s) are your younger birds?  Is the color of the odd egg new/different from what you've been getting or just the size? 

The 1 of the older birds is an unknown the other 5 are an EE, red sex linked, a black sex linked, and 2 large meat birds. The babies are 9 EE and an EE roo and the other 24 are cinnamon queens.

It is just the size of the egg that is off we do have 2 birds that lay that color of egg but I didnt think they had laid yet today, though 1 of them has been very broody on and off lately.

 

[nikchick]

I'm no expert, but I think yolk less eggs can happen at any age, but a lot of the time it's a new layer that does it. It usually happens because of a disruption in the egg factory. A lpt of the time its when the egg factory thinks a piece of of loose tissue is a yolk and forms an egg around it. Most yolk less eggs I have seen are a great deal smaller than the egg the hen would usually lay.

 

[Henthused]

Hi Folks,

I have a year old hen that has been laying 4-5 eggs a week for 6 mos. Her eggs have always been medium size, light brown to pinkish. Today, she laid an egg with a coloration I have not seen before. I am posting pictures and hoping that some of you can tell me what is happening. She has been under some stress for the past couple of months. My incubator hatched out some babies, and I introduced a couple of outsiders, but she didn't take well to them. So..........I moved her to another run and house. She does get to see the newbies

daily through the hardware cloth.

 

[nikchick]

There are numerous things that can effect egg coloring. Here is a good post about it:https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

Hi Folks, I have a year old hen that has been laying 4-5 eggs a week for 6 mos. Her eggs have always been medium size, light brown to pinkish. Today, she laid an egg with a coloration I have not seen before. I am posting pictures and hoping that some of you can tell me what is happening. She has been under some stress for the past couple of months. My incubator hatched out some babies, and I introduced a couple of outsiders, but she didn't take well to them. So..........I moved her to another run and house. She does get to see the newbies

daily through the hardware cloth.

 

[Henthused]

Hi @ nikchick,

Thank you so much for the pictures. After looking at the pictures, I am leaning toward a stress related problem.

 

[nikchick]

You're welcome. I was just passing on good information someone had already posted on here.

 

[nc18art]

Awww, isn't that cute! Tiny, yolkless eggs are sometimes known as witch eggs or fairy eggs. Occasionally a hen will lay a fairy egg when something has disturbed her reproductive cycle. Sometimes a hen will lay a fairy egg or two just as she comes into laying, before her reproductive system has gotten into gear. They are sometimes lighter or darker than her regular eggs because they may spend more or less time in the "egg painting" area of her system, the shell gland. It is normally nothing to be concerned about. It simply means she didn't release a yolk before her body started producing an egg to enclose it.

Sometimes a hen may lay a small egg that still contains a yolk, too... even if she normally lays larger eggs. Again, this typically happens with a new layer as her body is getting into the rhythm of laying, but it can also happen with older birds if there has been a disturbance that upsets their usual cycle. It isn't anything to be concerned about unless drastic size changes happen regularly. Then you will want to consult a vet to make sure everything is okay. But do keep in mind that the eggs of a young pullet are often very small (regularly) for a few months, and gradually get bigger as she matures!

plus it could also effect the colors of the egg to

 

[aart]

I currently have 40 chickens, 6 that are between 2 and 4 years old. Then 34 babies (1 turned out to be a roo).

Anyway, my babies are 16 weeks old and I got this today. The adults have never laid an egg this small before, though my oldesy hen did lay a soft shelled egg about a week ago.

Could this been a first egg from one of the babies? I know it isn't from the EE chicks so that eliminates 12 birds. The egg was yolkless.

Probably from a cinnamon queen at that age, high production hybrids...tho EE can lay brown too.