Fairy Eggs

[Stynch]

I have a 6-7 month old Red Star, Golden Comet, Red Sex Link, whatever

. She started laying a few weeks ago, but nothing but fairy eggs. There is no pattern to her laying - eggs weight either about 15 gm with a light brown shell or 30 grams with a darker shell and can come anywhere between a day and a week apart, and one day she actually laid two tiny eggs, one right after the other! She shows all the outward signs of being ready - deep red comb and wattles, submissive squat whenever my DH or I approach their enclosure, spending time in the nest box. The birds get Dumor layer crumble, with separate feeders for oyster shell and grit, plus occasional treats (fresh produce, meat leftovers, meal worms), and since the other chickens are laying nice big eggs 5-6 days/week, I don't think feed is an issue. None of our other chickens ever did anything like this, so I'm wondering if it is considered normal (and if so, about how long before she gets her act together?). Thanks for any input you might have!

 

[mtngirl35]

Just give her some time. Sometimes it takes awhile for them to get all the kinks worked out. When my girls started laying I got some fairy eggs and very thin shelled eggs for a couple of months. They are 18 months old now and I still get a fairy eggs on ocassion.

 

[Stynch]

Thanks for the encouragement! She is laying more frequently, and this past week actually laid a full sized egg with a yolk! She went right back to the fairy eggs after that, though! But, she is laying almost every day now, so we are hoping that soon she'll be "earning her keep"!!

 

[Stynch]

YAY!! She laid two more huge torpedo-shaped eggs this week, so I think she's on the right track. Maybe she got the message when we started reading chicken stew recipes to her!