Paper thin egg, free ranging, moving ceramic eggs? So many questions please help!

[brunchisyum]

Sorry All, I have so many questions and am at a bit of a loss.

I have a flock of 9 hens. 3 are silkies and are just now losing their fluff and getting feathers on their head. They all hatched in mid April.

Sometime last week i was out playing/feeding the flock late in the afternoon after work one day when my New Hampshire Red- her name is Greta. Spread her wings a tiny bit and postured a bit- she was standing right nest to me in the yard (I was sitting). I petted her and though maybe she was pooping- or maybe laying an egg since she has the reddest comb- it was odd but there was no poop and no egg she put her wings together and kept on keeping on.

This morning I slept in a bit and was late letting the hens out. I should also mention they free range. Greta was the first one at the door and started doing the same posture, and once again i petted her (maybe I shouldn't do this?). She then walked down the plank thingie and behold! An egg! except the shell looked super pale and not hard, when I went to pick it up the shell came off leaving the inside of the egg in the coop. the shell was paper thin. I cleaned it all up and am cleaning their coop out today.

A few weeks ago i put out oyster shell because I didn't think it was quite time to switch them to layer feed- and someone's been eating it. So i'm a bit surprised that the egg was so soft- could there be something else wrong? I went out today and bought a bag of layer feed but I also have half a bag left of grow and show. Which should I feed them? Should I mix them together?

A few weeks ago, being impatient as I am, I bought three ceramic eggs add put them in their laying boxes. Every day I find that they have moved the eggs out of the boxes and into the pain part of the coop. I have been moving them back. Should I not do this?

I'll be searching the yard/woods for a clutch of eggs just in case- but i suspect that only Greta and maybe one or two other hens are laying or close to laying. Is it advisable to just coop them all up for a day or two? I've seen it suggested in a few places but the idea doesn't sit well with me- especially if not all of them are laying.

In case people are wondering these are the hens I think I have. I say think because I bought all but the 3 unsexed silkies at blue seal and don't think I actually got what I requested

2 Rhode Island Reds (Repecka and Nytweet)
1 NH Red (Greta the one with the egg this morning)
1 Buff Orpington (Barbie)
1 Silver Laced Wyandotte (Wiley)
1 Araucana who is defn not an Araucana but might be a roster of some sort or a golden laced wyandotte- his/her name is Hawkie.

I'll try to add photos from my phone since I don't have them on my computer

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY HELP!!!!

 

[shelby h]

I'm not much help but I do know these things:
Soft shelled eggs are the norm for beginning laying. All four of my girls have laid at least one. They're just beginning to lay. Petting is definitely ok. It's not hurting them in any way, and hey, it might encourage some eggs, if you know what I mean.
I do have a question for you. How are you nest boxes? Lots of bedding? My girls kick the fake eggs out to, when they're getting their nest ready to lay the egg. I pop them back in, and will take them out permanently once they're all laying regularly.

 

[shelby h]

Oh. And definitely put them on the layer feed. Our girls were starting to redden up when we were low on grower feed. Our feed guy ( who i trust with all things animal) said it was perfectly ok to put them on the layer feed, and to mix what we had left of the grower with it.

 

[brunchisyum]

Ahh. The people at Blue Seal told me not to switch them until they were laying.

 

[brunchisyum]

The boxes have the same amount of beddign as the rest of the coop but less poop haha. I've just finished cleaning it out and am adding a "hen herb laying mix" I bought at blue seal along with the new food. Glad to hear the paper thin first egg is normal! PHEW!

 

[DanEP]

Make sure your nest boxes have a 3-4 inch lip on the front to keep bedding in the box instead of the coop floor, if their scratching fake eggs out then they may be able to scratch the real ones out too. Go ahead and put the fake ones back.and see what happens. As far as the soft shell egg that's fairly common and nothing to worry about as long as it doesn't continue. It would be fine to mix the different feeds together and as far as someone eating oyster shell it may not be the one laying so a little layer feed wouldn't hurt.
Now we come to locking them up. Your goal here is to train them to lay in your nest boxes and if the first ones use the boxes your good to go, if not you may need to lock them in for a couple of days which is not a big deal as long as they have food ,water and good ventilation. Chickens generally have a if it's good enough for you to feel safe I'll use it too attitude so if you get the first ones using the boxes the others will follow. Locking them up for a couple of days to give them a safe place to lay and possible brood later on is a small price to pay.It will bother you a lot more than it does them.

 

[shelby h]

Also, I've been told with the soft eggs, they have less control as to where they lay those. I don't know if that's true or not, but we did find one soft egg in the middle of the yard. No nesting, just right snack in the middle of the yard, like it was on display, lol.

 

[brunchisyum]

Lip? Hmm. The boxes are at the same level as the floor- my hen house is on stilts.You still think I should install a lip? This is an old photo and we never set the run up.

 

[shelby h]

I would put a 2x4 up between the nest box and the coop area, to help keep the bedding and eggs where they should be

 

[Mutt Farm]

A small lip, even like a 1X2 or 1X3 at the box entrance would be better. It keeps the eggs and bedding in and even at floor level, will be helpful, cozier. Is the coop and nest box bedding the same? You might try straw or orchard grass hay in the nest boxes, mine liked it much better as they can pick around and feel like they are building a nest. X2 on what @DanEP suggested. Until they are in the habit of using the boxes, I'd lock them down, at least until afternoon. They "usually" will lay before 3. If they learn to start laying elsewhere, that can be a tough habit to break and the others will follow suit. Best of luck and keep us posted.