First time chicken owner - first hen laying odd egg

[pointyp]

Hi all!
My 6 mo. old + barred rock hen just started to lay eggs! The first one was a bit rubbery & soft. The other chickens damaged it before I could get a good look at it. The next few eggs were good. I've got a constant supply of oyster shell for them to eat. So is it possible that another rubbery egg will be laid...or is that normal for the first one?
thanks!
-Pamela

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pointyp/2584948750/" title="P1000795 by pointyp_72, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/2584948750_c91aa11ee6.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="P1000795" /></a>

 

[Chirpy]

It certainly can be normal. As long as she's on good layer pellets with free access to the oyster shell I wouldn't be worried at this point. If it continues to happen then you will want to take a closer look and see if there is something else going on.

 

[patienceprudencecharity]

My chickens had some funky first eggs, including two shell-less rubbery eggs, then some very thin shelled eggs.

What worked for me was two things:
1) mixing quite a bit of oyster shell into their food (and of course feeding good layer-specific food, like the Dumor layer crumble you can get at Tractor Supply)

2) minimizing the greens I was feeding them (and stopping giving the extras for several days until the egg shells stabilized)

Don't worry! I think your chickens are just doing what they do, as their bodies change.

 

[patienceprudencecharity]

I've also read that you only need to put LOTS of extra oyster shell mixed into the feed until the eggshells stabillize, then you can go back to a small amount or separate container. That seems to be true for us.

What kind of chickens do you have?

I'm a new chicken order owner, too.

Warm wishes,
Nancy