Hi. I have been lurking for a while and reading and learning a lot. I have three red sex-link hens who are 14 1/2 weeks old. They are sweet girls and today they laid their first egg. I am guessing it was Odette because she started the submissive squat first. (I thought there was something terribly wrong!) it was very small, and had two little punctures like someone stepped on it, in one of the nest boxes. There also was a weird egg(?) on the ground. The "yolk" was rubbery and elongated and surrounded by a thick membrane. But there was no shell. It did have albumen and a second membrane around everything, and both were ripped. Is this just because they're so young? I had still been feeding the grower crumble because I didn't think I needed to switch to layer yet. I added oyster shells today in a separate dish. Is there anything else I should do? Thanks.
and Welcome To BYC! Boy, your girls are starting young. X3, pullets often lay odd eggs while they are getting their systems in gear, soft shelled eggs are common, with your girls their shell glands are probably still immature... the oyster shell in a separate dish should be fine, people with mixed flocks usually never feed layer.
