Oldhands...First Egg and early egg laying

[LynnGrigg]

I was out in the lot with the girls on Saturday when our roo made the "I have a Treat" noise. I wasn't watching him(he was literally right next to me) but looked to see what he'd found for the ladies. It looked like poo at first and I questioned why he'd make a fuss over that but on closer inspection, it appeared to be less than a teaspoon of egg white matter with a tiny meat spot and no yolk. I'm sure one of the girls must have passed this. An EARLY egg...Is that possible?!! They are only 12 weeks old today. I've noticed that some of them are beginning to cluck,cry and check out the laying areas and the roo has begun to coo encouragements and dance to court them as well. Aren't they a bit young? Guess there isn't much I can do to stop the inevitable but I'm wondering if I should be giving them a bit of oil to aid them ...in case. Is safflower or cannola all right? Thanks for your help. Lynn

 

[JudyMcKinn]

I don't think there is any chance they are starting to lay at 12 weeks. 16 weeks is about the earliest that some of the better laying types start at. Are you sure that thing was from a chicken?? Could be anything. Did they eat it? Doesn't sound too appetizing to me.

But I would keep my eyes open and watch them, and see if you can tell where it came from, and if everyone seems okay.

 

[LynnGrigg]

Hi, Thanks for responding. I have a roo and three started hens that were placed in the lot with the younger ones to help watch and warn of predaters and show the lil ones "the ropes".. The leghorn first laid a "pullet" egg in the shell about three weeks ago. It was smaller than some batam eggs I've seen. This egg did not have a yolk but did have a small meat spot. She has since been laying HUGE eggs- no problem. She was not in the area when this occured. This happened on the left side of me -right next to me... I was not looking so I do not know which hen/chick this came from but it looked exactly like the insides of the leghorn's first egg... minus any shell of course. The only reason I noticed this is because the roo announced food. I did think that 12 weeks is way too young to begin. I'm just wondering if this might be a precursor to full blown egg laying and that perhaps it is something that goes unwitnessed. The young ones are definately showing signs of maturity in voice, receptiveness towards the roo, curiosity in the laying boxes(a few are crying, entering the nest areas, scratching like adult hens,sitting and arranging straw...then they get up and wander off after a few minutes) They are also displaying this behavior on the ground... in lieu of taking their usual dirt baths. I enjoy watching animal behavior... can you tell? Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else had ever witnessed a very young pre laying hen expell what seemed to be the contents of an egg. I guess I do need to get a bit of oil in their diet to ease their coming eggs.