My splash marans laid her first egg Oct 17, a massive double yolker (ouch!). She didn't lay again for a few days (I thought) and I figured she was recuperating from the first monster. But then I found three soft shelled eggs on the floor of the coop. She's currently my only brown layer, so I know they were hers.
They have layer feed, free access to oyster shell, and I feed their egg shells back to them. I occasionally add yogurt to their morning mash.
Since then, I've noticed a pattern. I'll get a good egg, maybe even two in a row, followed by two or three days of weird eggs.
The good eggs all have gorgeous shells and are much more reasonably sized than the first one. The good eggs are always laid in a nest box. They are a lovely chocolatey brown.
The weird eggs can happen anywhere. Sometimes they're in the coop, like she couldn't quite make it to the nest box in time. Other times, they are in the middle of the run like she just plopped one out while going about her business. Occasionally she lays one in the box. Some are completely soft but surprisingly sturdy; they feel kinda like those jelly filled stress balls. I dropped the one I found this morning and it, no joke, bounced and remained intact. One day she laid two soft eggs back to back. A couple have looked normal, but when I pick them up, my fingers go straight through the shell and I find they have a crumbly, almost chalky texture. And a few have had weird, splotchy color and a shell that feels like sandpaper. All the odd eggs are much lighter in color than the normal eggs.
I know their bodies have to work out the kinks when they first start laying, but all of my others have been champs right out the gate. Is this still new layer sorting, or might it be something more?
They have layer feed, free access to oyster shell, and I feed their egg shells back to them. I occasionally add yogurt to their morning mash.
Since then, I've noticed a pattern. I'll get a good egg, maybe even two in a row, followed by two or three days of weird eggs.
The good eggs all have gorgeous shells and are much more reasonably sized than the first one. The good eggs are always laid in a nest box. They are a lovely chocolatey brown.
The weird eggs can happen anywhere. Sometimes they're in the coop, like she couldn't quite make it to the nest box in time. Other times, they are in the middle of the run like she just plopped one out while going about her business. Occasionally she lays one in the box. Some are completely soft but surprisingly sturdy; they feel kinda like those jelly filled stress balls. I dropped the one I found this morning and it, no joke, bounced and remained intact. One day she laid two soft eggs back to back. A couple have looked normal, but when I pick them up, my fingers go straight through the shell and I find they have a crumbly, almost chalky texture. And a few have had weird, splotchy color and a shell that feels like sandpaper. All the odd eggs are much lighter in color than the normal eggs.
I know their bodies have to work out the kinks when they first start laying, but all of my others have been champs right out the gate. Is this still new layer sorting, or might it be something more?
