FIRST EGG

[2MChickens]

One of our girls laid her first egg! I am a first time chicken owner so I am very very excited!! But I also have some questions!

Is it normal that it is so small?

Is there anything special you have to do to first (or any) eggs?

I have 11 pullets, do I need to wait until they’re all laying before I change their feed?

 

[Theorrin]

congratz! and yes its okay to be small especially the first ones. even after you may randomly get a smaller one. also depends on your breeds as some lay smaller eggs and some lay larger ones

 

[FunClucks]

Give them a month or two, the eggs will get bigger and settle out at whatever size is normal for each chicken.

If all your pullets are the same age and breed, and all their combs are looking big and red, yes, I'd switch them over to layer feed. Or keep them on all-flock/chick starter and add a dish of oyster shell. Who ever needs the oyster shell will eat as much as they need. If you have different breeds or some aren't ready to lay yet, just add a dish of oyster shell.

How exciting!!! I just recently got my first eggs out of the green eggers I bred myself and hatched out in January - so very excited about this!!! So I totally get it!

 

[2MChickens]

Give them a month or two, the eggs will get bigger and settle out at whatever size is normal for each chicken.

If all your pullets are the same age and breed, and all their combs are looking big and red, yes, I'd switch them over to layer feed. Or keep them on all-flock/chick starter and add a dish of oyster shell. Who ever needs the oyster shell will eat as much as they need. If you have different breeds or some aren't ready to lay yet, just add a dish of oyster shell.

How exciting!!! I just recently got my first eggs out of the green eggers I bred myself and hatched out in January - so very excited about this!!! So I totally get it!

Okay thank you so much! I do have different breeds and 4 of the girls are about 3 weeks younger thank the rest.

 

[2MChickens]

congratz! and yes its okay to be small especially the first ones. even after you may randomly get a smaller one. also depends on your breeds as some lay smaller eggs and some lay larger ones

Great, thank you!!!

 

[FunClucks]

Oh, and once your done admiring your pullet eggs in about a month, you can totally eat them, and feed the crushed egg shells back to your hens. Or blow them out for a shelf decoration...

I never thought I'd take so many pictures of an egg, but we do...

 

[2MChickens]

We have a pre-fab coop/run and my chickens are let out at sunrise and put themselves back up at night. We usually leave the door to the run open and the sliding door to the coop open during the day and my girls are able to get to their nesting boxes that way. I’m wondering if I need to leave the cleaning side of the coop open for the girls to get to the nesting boxes or if the sliding door is enough?

 

[2ndTink]

We have a pre-fab coop/run and my chickens are let out at sunrise and put themselves back up at night. We usually leave the door to the run open and the sliding door to the coop open during the day and my girls are able to get to their nesting boxes that way. I’m wondering if I need to leave the cleaning side of the coop open for the girls to get to the nesting boxes or if the sliding door is enough?

They know the route to get to the boxes, as long as their normal path is open they will be fine. If the run is also open so they can free range, they might start laying around the yard or make a hidden nest. It can help to leave them locked into their run (at least for the first half of the day) for the first few weeks of laying so they learn where to lay. Once they know to use the nesting boxes I've been able to let the chickens loose in the morning and they will return to lay in the coop then head back out to forage more.

Congrats on the egg! The first eggs are always so exciting! I typically blow them out and save the shells from the first one or two and have a little collection going in a basket. You are ok to eat them, no special treatment for first eggs. FYI, if you are making a half recipe of something that calls for 1 egg, the pullet eggs work perfectly as a 1/2 egg

 

[2MChickens]

They know the route to get to the boxes, as long as their normal path is open they will be fine. If the run is also open so they can free range, they might start laying around the yard or make a hidden nest. It can help to leave them locked into their run (at least for the first half of the day) for the first few weeks of laying so they learn where to lay. Once they know to use the nesting boxes I've been able to let the chickens loose in the morning and they will return to lay in the coop then head back out to forage more.

Congrats on the egg! The first eggs are always so exciting! I typically blow them out and save the shells from the first one or two and have a little collection going in a basket. You are ok to eat them, no special treatment for first eggs. FYI, if you are making a half recipe of something that calls for 1 egg, the pullet eggs work perfectly as a 1/2 egg

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate all the helpful information! I probably will collect the shells also because when I decided to get chickens, I had no idea how invested I was going to be in every little thing they do I just love them so much!

 

[-Chanticleer-]

They know the route to get to the boxes, as long as their normal path is open they will be fine. If the run is also open so they can free range, they might start laying around the yard or make a hidden nest. It can help to leave them locked into their run (at least for the first half of the day) for the first few weeks of laying so they learn where to lay. Once they know to use the nesting boxes I've been able to let the chickens loose in the morning and they will return to lay in the coop then head back out to forage more.

Congrats on the egg! The first eggs are always so exciting! I typically blow them out and save the shells from the first one or two and have a little collection going in a basket. You are ok to eat them, no special treatment for first eggs. FYI, if you are making a half recipe of something that calls for 1 egg, the pullet eggs work perfectly as a 1/2 egg

That’s a great idea about blowing out the first egg! I’m going to steal that idea . Haven’t gotten mine yet.