First egg and layer feed

[NatJ]

I had my first egg from my Ameraucana on Wednesday. It was small and a greenish grayish blueish color. Then another egg today that is also small but is more blue and no green or gray. The eggs are also different shapes. Could these be from the same bird? I also have a cream Legbar that will lay blue but she hasn’t shown signs yet (squatting). I’ll add a picture but it’s hard to see the colors right. They are also different shapes. Both are 5 months old this week.

Those eggs could be from the same bird, or they could be from different birds.

I've noticed that sometimes a pullet's first egg will be elongated compared to her later eggs (but not always.)

Brown eggs from the same pullet can be lighter or darker on different days. And blue/green eggs can be bluer on some days (less brown on it) and greener on other days (more brown on it.)

You can get some idea by looking at each pullet's comb & wattles: they typically get bigger and redder when a pullet is close to laying age. If they are both bright red, you still don't know for sure, but if one pullet still has very pale comb & wattles, she is probably not laying.

You can sometimes tell whether a pullet is laying by checking her vent and pubic bones:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/
Current layers and almost-ready ones may seem the same, but you can probably tell if either pullet is a long ways from laying. It can help to compare several chickens, especially if there are any that you know for sure are laying or not-laying. If you have a cockerel or rooster, he is a great example of not laying.

Not all pullets squat before they start to lay, so I wouldn't count on that to tell who is laying or not.

Since you've got the photos, you can also look back at them after you know both pullets are laying (when you get two blue/green eggs in one day.)

Sometimes these puzzles become clear after you have more total eggs to compare, and sometimes it remains a mystery forever. I don't know which will happen in this case.

 

[Linnre]

Those eggs could be from the same bird, or they could be from different birds.

I've noticed that sometimes a pullet's first egg will be elongated compared to her later eggs (but not always.)

Brown eggs from the same pullet can be lighter or darker on different days. And blue/green eggs can be bluer on some days (less brown on it) and greener on other days (more brown on it.)

You can get some idea by looking at each pullet's comb & wattles: they typically get bigger and redder when a pullet is close to laying age. If they are both bright red, you still don't know for sure, but if one pullet still has very pale comb & wattles, she is probably not laying.

You can sometimes tell whether a pullet is laying by checking her vent and pubic bones:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/
Current layers and almost-ready ones may seem the same, but you can probably tell if either pullet is a long ways from laying. It can help to compare several chickens, especially if there are any that you know for sure are laying or not-laying. If you have a cockerel or rooster, he is a great example of not laying.

Not all pullets squat before they start to lay, so I wouldn't count on that to tell who is laying or not.

Since you've got the photos, you can also look back at them after you know both pullets are laying (when you get two blue/green eggs in one day.)

Sometimes these puzzles become clear after you have more total eggs to compare, and sometimes it remains a mystery forever. I don't know which will happen in this case.

Thank you so much for this information! When others post sometimes it seems like “wouldn’t it be easy to just wait and see?” Then when it happens to you (me), I want to know now! I hope I do find out eventually. It’s fun knowing who laid what and when. My two brown egg layers lay different shades of brown, so I always know. I have 6 chickens, one (or two) not laying yet and one old enough but she went on strike after laying for 6 weeks in March!