How much does your egg count fluctuate week over week?

[HBRRanchCO]

First off I'm new to chickens, and even newer to eggs from chickens. I got my first three chickens a few weeks before my second three, so I suppose I've had chickens for 6 weeks now? The first three hens are 7+ years old and I'm not really expecting any eggs from them. If I get any it will be a happy surprise. However, the other three have been giving us eggs since just a couple of days after we got them! I got 11 the first week, 15 the second week, and this week I've only gotten 9.

These three ladies lay different color eggs so it is easy for me to know who is doing what. We have a sex link (red star) that has given us a pretty brown egg nearly every day. I think today was the first day since we brought them home three weeks ago that she didn't give us an egg. The other two are somewhat irregular, but the buff orp hen has given us one or two eggs a week, sometimes a little odd shaped, sometimes a little thin, but not alarmingly so. She gave us 2 eggs the first week, 3 the second week, but only one this week and it was found on the ground outside the coop! The gray EE gives us light blue eggs that have been a bit thin a few times, but she gave us 4 eggs the first week, 5 eggs the second week, and only 2 this week. Well...almost 3, yesterday we found a partial blue shell inside the coop just outside one of the nesting boxes. My fiance brought it inside to show me.

The 3 laying ladies are all under 2 years old, none of them seem sick or molting, all are eating well, have access to grit and crumbles and oyster and plenty of water. They've been able to free range on the nice days outside of their run (although there aren't many bugs out there yet, they've been having fun exploring and dirt bathing etc). We weren't really expecting eggs just days after we moved them, but that was a happy surprise. It has been crazy cold on and off the last week, but not really moreso than the previous two. They've probably gotten a bit more meal worms and a bit more scratch than is optimum for them, but they're not gorging themselves on it or anything.

One last piece is that I do have all 6 hens on an all flock feed at the suggestion of some members here. They have access to ample oyster shell, which I thought would be enough to balance out the calcium requirement, but maybe I was mistaken. We mixed some layer pellets in with their food, but they all seem to like the all flock crumbles a lot more than those pellets.

I guess I'm just trying to give you as much information as I can so that there might be a chance you can help tell me what I might be able to do to help the two who seem to have some misshapen eggs with thin shells. I would have thought that if it was a nutrition thing, that all three of their eggs would be thin, but the brown ones have been normal thick shells.

Do you think slowing down the egg production this week and finding that one broken egg shell is just a coincidence? If hens start eating eggs do they leave parts of the shell laying there? There wasn't a big mess or anything. We work from home so usually the eggs get found and brought inside several times a day.

It is entirely possible that I'm just overthinking it and they're still just settling into our house and new surroundings and they just had an off week this week. How much does your flock egg production fluctuate from week to week?

 

[aart]

It can fluctuate day to day (as you know-not all birds lay daily), thus also week to week, and seasonally as well what with molting and changes in daylight length.

If only one bird is laying funky shells, it's the bird not the diet.
Some birds do not uptake nutrients as well as others,
or their reproductive systems may be malfunctioning due to a plethora of reasons.
Figuring out who, why, and what to do about it is a daunting task. I just make sure they are getting a balanced diet and try to gather eggs often so those thin egg eaters don't create a habit. Keeping fake eggs in the nests, the hard plastic ones, or golf balls can deter the habit of searching for more eggs to eat.

Broken eggs...thin shells are easily broken and fair game for eating.
You might find the shell, but often will find only a wet spot as they eat as much of it as possible.

The first year is filled with learning new things,
like getting a sip of water out of a fire hose,
just observe as much as you can but don't let worries trump the joys.
Taking pics of odd things can help us help you solve some mysteries.
There's a wide range of 'normal' when it comes to chickens.

Hope that helps.

 

[HBRRanchCO]

It can fluctuate day to day (as you know-not all birds lay daily), thus also week to week, and seasonally as well what with molting and changes in daylight length.

If only one bird is laying funky shells, it's the bird not the diet.
Some birds do not uptake nutrients as well as others,
or their reproductive systems may be malfunctioning due to a plethora of reasons.
Figuring out who, why, and what to do about it is a daunting task. I just make sure they are getting a balanced diet and try to gather eggs often so those thin egg eaters don't create a habit. Keeping fake eggs in the nests, the hard plastic ones, or golf balls can deter the habit of searching for more eggs to eat.

Broken eggs...thin shells are easily broken and fair game for eating.
You might find the shell, but often will find only a wet spot as they eat as much of it as possible.

The first year is filled with learning new things,
like getting a sip of water out of a fire hose,
just observe as much as you can but don't let worries trump the joys.
Taking pics of odd things can help us help you solve some mysteries.
There's a wide range of 'normal' when it comes to chickens.

Hope that helps.

It helps immensely, thank you!

 

[brewfarm]

I give my hens 1 pound of oyster shells per 20 pounds of feed. I haven't had a problem with thin shells. If I throw out egg shells- or the one time I broke some eggs collecting them- my girls will jump all over them. There's nothing left. Number of eggs will fluctuate per day because they don't lay every day, and at the same time. My hens lay roughly every 27 hours so I get 6 eggs per week per hen average. But, the average number per week should be about the same. For my girls within 5%.
This time of year light is also a big issue. I keep a light on in my coop so the amount of light they get will be constant year round. But, if you don't as they days get shorter so will your egg laying.

 

[HBRRanchCO]

I give my hens 1 pound of oyster shells per 20 pounds of feed. I haven't had a problem with thin shells. If I throw out egg shells- or the one time I broke some eggs collecting them- my girls will jump all over them. There's nothing left. Number of eggs will fluctuate per day because they don't lay every day, and at the same time. My hens lay roughly every 27 hours so I get 6 eggs per week per hen average. But, the average number per week should be about the same. For my girls within 5%.
This time of year light is also a big issue. I keep a light on in my coop so the amount of light they get will be constant year round. But, if you don't as they days get shorter so will your egg laying.

So you mix the oyster shell in with the feed?

 

[brewfarm]

So you mix the oyster shell in with the feed?

No I only put feed in the feeders. Oyster shells, or any treats, I sprinkle in yard and they run around pecking like crazy at it.

 

[AllenK RGV]

For my 5 pullets I get 5 or so eggs every 48 hours. I am a complete novice but do offer the oyster shell stuff free choice. My girls are 4-4.5 pounders so make small eggs but have very thick shells. With older hens with a nutritional past you are unfamiliar with I would expect some variances.