Light Brahma, laying early and 2 times a day!

[Jenikate]

I have 3 Light Brahmas. Two have been laying since 19 weeks(they are 23 weeks now), and the third is physically no where near ready to lay. For the past 2 weeks, one of them lays every other day, and the other lays 2 eggs a day, 3 days in a row, takes a day off then 2 eggs a day for 3 days again!
First of all, 19 weeks seems young for this breed to lay from what I have read( and they are typically not very prolific layers ). Secondly, I thought maybe the third girl was sneaking one in here and there but she isnt even red faced a little..and Thirdly, I saw her do it 3 days in a row! I just happened to be doing a ton of yard work that week and all 3 days, I saw her in the nesting box (the other chooses to use the middle of the floor ;( and after 1/2 hour, out she comes singing her egg song...all three days it happened at around 9 am then again at about 4 pm.
Is this as unusual as it appears to me? I would think maybe not if it were a daily layer breed...Maybe I know nothing anymore

 

[Den in Penn]

She has laid a dozen eggs in seven days. I don't know what to say. It is VERY unusual.

 

[Jenikate]

She has laid a dozen eggs in seven days. I don't know what to say. It is VERY unusual.

Yes. For 2 weeks now! At 19 weeks she laid two the first week, then 4 the second week, now this for the past 2 weeks.
Literally, if I walk by her and say "Boo!" She squats and stomps her feet. Sometimes I can yell Boo from across the yard and get her to do it...like she is SUPER fertile or something!
My husband and I laugh and compare her to "that girl" that we all probably knew in school...had a figure and full boobs by 6th grade, and all the other girls hated..lol.

 

[Den in Penn]

How is the quality of the eggs? Size, hardness off the shells.

 

[Jenikate]

Actually it is a total of 18 eggs in 14 days, not quite 2 dozen...but again, for this breed, it blows my mind.

 

[Jenikate]

The eggs are perfect, but on the smaller side of where they will be when she is more mature but still avg size. Again, she has only been laying for 4 wks total. Morning egg on bottom, still warm afternoon egg on top.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Impossible.

Unless their soft shells / eggless, impossible. Sure, maybe once in their life they'll lay 2 good sized eggs with good shells, but your other girl is also laying.

Sure your not getting them confused? Or do you go out there and find her in the nestbox with 2 eggs? A LOT of hens sit in the nestbox even when not laying an egg.

Also our brahma is also a good layer, just depends on the genes

 

[Jenikate]

The eggs are perfect, but on the smaller side of where they will be when she is more mature but still avg size. Again, she has only been laying for 4 wks total. Morning egg on bottom, still warm afternoon egg on top.

Impossible.

Unless their soft shells / eggless, impossible. Sure, maybe once in their life they'll lay 2 good sized eggs with good shells, but your other girl is also laying.

Sure your not getting them confused? Or do you go out there and find her in the nestbox with 2 eggs? A LOT of hens sit in the nestbox even when not laying an egg.

Also our brahma is also a good layer, just depends on the genes

Not impossible. As noted in my original post, i have SEEN her do it on 3 different days. I looked for (and collected if any) eggs at 8 am daily and about 10 other times a day between 2 coops that I have. (My second coop I have 7 girls that are ready to start laying any day and I am very anxious to start getting more!) At 9 am she is on the nest for about 1/2 hour, then gets off the nest, does her egg song, and there is an egg. same thing at 4 pm (ish). There is no doubt in my mind it is her since seen it myself.
I was thinking maybe it has to do with her system trying to figure things out since she started early...or worse, something wrong with her. I would think she would be more prone to egg binding...I do also notice that her first egg of the day is more round and the second egg is more egg shaped. I cant imagine she will keep up this pace, but I also never thought she, and another Brahma, would be laying at 18 weeks 5 days!.

I found several citations that stated that it is very possible, after posting this saw quite a few posts on BYC with similar stories. Here is just one article ..http://www.spottedcowpress.ca/chapters/02FemaleAnatomy.pdf (page 8)
This one states that it could be from overfeeding..but I dont notice her eating anymore than the others my any means. They get live meal worms a few times a week, lettuce, cabbage or brocolli a few times a week and they free range 2 hours a day.
More than anything, I just hope it is not a sign of anything wrong with her.

 

[Jenikate]

And quotes like this that make me worry...


The reproductive system within hens (of every breed) is timed down to a very predictable system. If this system is disturbed (from stress or a million other things) the ovule sack can release more than one egg, purely by mistake. When two "new eggs' are released, one of two things can happen, A very large double yolk egg or two fully formed eggs. This is potentially dangerous in some breeds because the reproductive system of a hen is designed to only hold one egg at a time and two can cause tearing which often leads to hemorrhaging and eventually death. However, some experts hypothesize that only one out of every ten hens that release two eggs instead of one actually die from this. Simply because it is usually a temporary condition that corrects itself within a short period of time.

The real danger comes into play when the hen keeps laying two eggs in a day or double yolked eggs everyday. The reproductive organs are not designed (like humans) to stretch and adjust. When the hen reaches sexual maturity, her reproductive organs are the correct size and grow very little. The more often two eggs or a very large double yolked egg form in the hens reproductive organs, the more likely the organs will stretch beyond their limit and tear.

 

[inbrick]

Quote:
I have a pullet (no idea on the breed) who just started laying a few days ago. She laid one egg the first day, and ate an entire snake she found while free ranging. The next day she laid two perfect eggs.