Hello. My chickens are 7 months old now (all hens). They started laying 2 months ago, but their eggs are still rather small. Only my two leghorns have been laying decent eggs. I feed my chickens Layena feed, but my mother is advising me to switch the chickens to chicken scratch for better eggs. Would that help? I hear that chicken scratch is only a treat... Could it also be that my chickens are still too young? If so, how long until their eggs get bigger? Thank you.
Egg size is determined by the breed. And you are right, scratch feed is only for a treat. What breed is your hen?
That is normal for a pullet. Don't rely on scratch it is a snack food not a well rounded diet. Keep up with the layers ration and provide some free choice oyster shell. My leghorns were laying a decent size egg before the end of their first year, but my larger breeds did not have a large egg until after their first year.
Thank you for the replies. I have 2 leghorns, 1 barred rock, 1 ancona, and 3 easter eggers. I will see if I can get some oyster shell this week.
Our flock has been laying for maybe a month - 5 weeks now. Our barred rocks, RIRs and Buffs all laid small eggs for about 3 weeks then they gradually started getting bigger. They are now averaging 50+ grams and still climbing in average weight. One of our two EEs just today gave up her first egg. A beautiful medium sized, pale olive green colored egg. Our flock is just over 5 months old now. One thing I tried once the chickens started laying was to increase the protein content of their feed and added a small amount of cracked corn to their crumbles. I have our feed mix somewhere between 19 & 20% protein by mixing two types of feed and the corn in a large trash can we use only for feed. Don't be afraid to change things up, increase, decrease protein, oyster shell and scratch until you begin to get the results you desire. We are first time BYC folks too, so we are learning a bunch. Good Luck!!
from another Rachel~ The Ancona may never lay nice big eggs, but the Rock and the EE should. I agree not to change their food, just give them some more time.
I have 5 rsls. They started laying in july. My eggs now range from 56-65 grams. Yesterday for example i had one egg 56 gram and the others were all low 60's. I think its just time. Mine pretty much just eat grower crumbles and scrapes. I have laying pellets there too but they rarely eat it. They get table scraps too. Spoiled flock...
Ours started in the 40 grams range and are now averaging 54-60 grams (Leghorn & Red Production) at about 6 weeks of laying. Our 2 SLW haven't started yet! I feed Bar Ale Organic layer feed and give scratch for treats amongst other items. They love watermelon and a hamburger/broccoli mixture I make for our dogs.