New egg layer- weird eggs?

[NewAtThis8]

I have an early layer so we didn’t have the ladies on a layer feed yet. The food they are eating is a good flock feeder though not chick crumbles and contains oyster shells / added calcium. At almost exactly 16 weeks we got one perfect, but small, egg. The next day we got a soft shell egg, that we weren’t 100% sure was her or one of the others as it was early and looked like it fell out of someone on the roosting bar.. the first layer did go into a nesting box and did her little egg song and everything was as it was supposed to be like she did it for months already so the soft shell was unusual. I fed them these two eggs scrambled with the first egg’s shell and some egg shells I had on hand from our store bought eggs we’ve been eating. Today, the 3rd day, she went into the nesting box, got interrupted, went back in and finished laying and this was the result. It feels course and almost like chalk. Thought maybe two toned because she got interrupted and went back to it. But is this just new pullet egg sorting out stuff or are we doing something wrong with either too little or too much calcium? Worried about egg bound or other problems with her for the weekend.

 

[TheWasp]

Looks like her system is just figuring it out!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Normal for new layers to have some glitchy eggs, eggs laid in wrong places, eggs off roosts, etc.

Not completely sure if I read this right, but if you're mixing oyster shell or other calcium into their feed, don't. Have it on the side so that birds that need the extra supplementing get it, and ones that don't, don't. Even if you're using layer feed it's a good idea for them to have calcium available on the side as layer contains enough calcium for an average bird's needs, but some may need more.

 

[NewAtThis8]

Normal for new layers to have some glitchy eggs, eggs laid in wrong places, eggs off roosts, etc.

Not completely sure if I read this right, but if you're mixing oyster shell or other calcium into their feed, don't. Have it on the side so that birds that need the extra supplementing get it, and ones that don't, don't. Even if you're using layer feed it's a good idea for them to have calcium available on the side as layer contains enough calcium for an average bird's needs, but some may need more.

Thank you! The food that they’ve been eating has oyster shell and added calcium in it from the feed store. I thought they all needed a certain amount of that to help digest their food, but as the username suggests I’m totally new at this! So you’d recommend NOT transitioning to a layer food and instead stick with a whole flock feeder with calcium on the side, which they will willingly go to if they need it?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you! The food that they’ve been eating has oyster shell and added calcium in it from the feed store. I thought they all needed a certain amount of that to help digest their food, but as the username suggests I’m totally new at this! So you’d recommend NOT transitioning to a layer food and instead stick with a whole flock feeder with calcium on the side, which they will willingly go to if they need it?

Ok, good to know, I wasn't sure if you yourself was mixing in extra.

The "digestion" part you're referring to is grit. In the US it's simply labeled grit, in UK and some other countries it's labeled insoluble or digestive grit (vs soluble = calcium). Those are small hard stones to help the birds grind down their food. If you already have easily accessible rocks in your birds' run or free range area, you don't need to provide it. However it is cheap and easy to provide, so no harm in putting some in a cup or tossing it in their run. Examples of digestive grit and sizes:

I'm not dead set on either layer or all flock/grower - I know there's a LOT of opinion on here about what to feed. I actually feed both layer and grower unless I have chicks, and the ratio of what I feed varies by season. In winter when no one's laying, I feed 70-75% grower vs around 25-30% layer. In spring when laying kicks up, I feed more like 60% grower and 40% layer. So they get a little more calcium during laying season, but more protein/less calcium when they're molting and not laying.

If you have a rooster, or are planning on hatching or raising chicks frequently, then going with all flock only may be the better option. If you have all laying age hens, especially higher production breeds, then strictly layer may be the better option.