New mom with a problem

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Goober9

Goober9

Songster
12 Years
Jun 24, 2013
43
22
104
Hello BYC,
First off I'm so glad this site and community exists. You've helped me raise my 4 babies (cuckoo maran, blue splash maran, silver laced wyandotte, and buff orpington) since they were 2 weeks old. And now they are laying. So a BIG THANK YOU TO ALL.

I have no proof but judging by their behavior, I think the Cuckoo Maran laid the first egg 3 days ago (6/21), a nice 1" brown egg. Then I believe the Wyandotte laid the next day, again about 1" tan and I found another this afternoon, lighter in color and about 1.5". However, this evening when I went nesting box the wyandotte prefers, she was in the middle of pecking a whole into 2 small, white eggs. I immediately (and gently) pushed her aside and took away the small white eggs.

My question is this: These small eggs are almost smaller than a ping pong ball, and white as opposed to the 3 tan/brown eggs I've already received. They are also not nearly as hard as "normal" eggs and have a rough texture, not smooth, almost as if they were not fully formed. Now, I can't prove which hen laid which egg, but I'm nearly positive the wyandotte laid the 2 white ping pong sized eggs which she was pecking at.

Any idea why she's doing this? Is it nutrition based? Oyster shells are readily available and they are fed Nutrena's Country Feeds Layer 16% protein feed.

Please help a new mom
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Hey, welcome to BYC, I just joined up myself! I actually read some posts today about "fart eggs" or eggs that are tiny and not normal. It's expected, especially in first-time layers and even in seasoned layers from what I've read. Search the forums for "fart eggs" and you can see for yourself if your situation is similar to others ;)
 
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Greetings from Kansas, Goober9, and
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! Great to have you aboard! I'm not an expert but from what I understand, the color of an egg is not laid down until the final layer of calcium. That would explain why your brown egg layers laid a couple white eggs. With the soft shells I think it might just be the hens, new to laying, getting into the swing of things. You might also ask in the link below - as I said, I'm not the authority in the field! Good luck to you!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/18/chicken-behaviors-and-egglaying
 
Thank you for the warm welcome and advice. Maurana - I nearly fell out of my chair laughing when I read your response but did take it seriously and read up on it. It looks like "fart eggs" have no yolks but these two soft ping pong eggs did indeed have small nickel sided golden yolks.

Redsoxs - I think you may be right about the layer of calcium not former properly b/c she's new to laying. I'll keep an eye on her and keep taking away any eggs which are not completely formed so she wont eat them.

Any other ideas?
 
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the important thing here is you've got an egg eater and the habit is quickly picked up by other hens. Roll away nest boxes are probably the best way to handle it unless the hens lay eggs anywhere they feel like it.. Are you feeding them good quality layer feed? You could do a search for "Egg eaters" you should get many hits
 
Hello Drumstick Diva,
Feed wise they are getting Nutrena's Country Feeds Layer 16% Protein feed. I also have oyster shells available at all times[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]. I fed all the ladies some scrambled eggs this morning for extra nutrition. I like the idea of roll-away nesting boxes. I'll look into that. Thanks![/FONT]
 

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