Our first egg!!!

[Granny23]

I went out this morning to see our chickies and got a big unexpected surprise! A small brown egg!!!!
My oldest hen Cookie wont be 5 mos until Dec 24.( Our buff Orpington is 2 weeks younger and our 2 RIRs aren't 4 mos yet.) She is a barred rock and she was VERY talkative this morning...more than usual. I am assuming its her egg. Would I be correct?
Here is a picture of it by a golf ball. Thanks!!

 

[Granny23]

That is very early! Congrats! Post pictures of your birds. Probably the BR like you said.

I recommend blowing out the egg to preserve it.

Here are our chicklets. Cookie, the Barred rock, our chicken in charge. She stepped up when we had to rehome our rooster Pepper due to city ordinance and we sent his bff Rosie with him. Cookie stepped up as the boss and has done an awesome job of it. She's used to our cats and our dog but a neighbors cat was in the yard a week ago or so and boy did she let us know!!! Scared the crap outta him too!!
Twinkie aka Goldie, the Buff Orpington is next and will be 22 weeks on 12/23/21.She is also a great protector. She is like 2nd in command and she and Cookie are buddies.
The twins, as we call them, Penny and Cinnamon, are Rhode Island Reds. They will be 4 mos on12/22/21.

 

[RubelliteRose]

Congratulations!
It sounds like Cookie was singing her egg song, so the egg was probably hers . I believe barred rocks usually start laying around 5 months give or take a few weeks. First eggs are generally small, but will increase in size over the next couple of months.
As for food, is that a scratch blend or scratch brand layer food? Now that they are laying, it would be best to give them an all flock food or layer food with oyster shell on the side. Scratch blends are generally more like treats than a complete feed, but I know there is a scratch brand of food which can make it confusing.
Your flock is beautiful

 

[Granny23]

That is very early! Congrats! Post pictures of your birds. Probably the BR like you said.

I recommend blowing out the egg to preserve it.

I feed them commercial scratch for the most part and they get an occasional handful of dried crickets, grasshoppers and fly larvae and leftover veggies such as corn, peas etc. I bought oyster shell/coral calcium in a bag months ago to have for egg laying. Is it best to mix it with the scratch or free feed it? And Im thinking now is the time to start it.

 

[Wrangler4]

My first chickens were RIR and Barr Rocks and they starated laying at 4 months. My present chicks are 3 Easter Eggers, one Turken and one unknown. 4 of the started laying at 5 months and the unknown has not laid yet. I am south central Texas so I am getting a little more daylight but was still surprised they started laying.
All my chickens free range on 1/2 acre all day and have non gmo egg layer feed available all day. They get a little scratch and sunflower seeds just before bedtime as a treat. I breakup egg shells to give them as extra calcium.
Their eggs will get bigger but it takes awhile. My new girls have been laying 3 weeks and they are still small.
It is exciting to get the first eggs!

 

[MochaLatte]

This is the commercial scratch I feed.

That is great scratch to keep and use as treats for the girls. However, too much of this on a daily basis can lead to unhealthy hens.

You will want to put them on a balanced crumble or pellet like All Flock (it has 20% protein and a proper daily mix of vitamins for them).

Offer oyster shell on the side so they can take it whenever they need it for strong shells - they are smart like that!

P.S. Your flock is absolutely beautiful.

 

[cherrynberry]

I went out this morning to see our chickies and got a big unexpected surprise! A small brown egg!!!!
My oldest hen Cookie wont be 5 mos until Dec 24.( Our buff Orpington is 2 weeks younger and our 2 RIRs aren't 4 mos yet.) She is a barred rock and she was VERY talkative this morning...more than usual. I am assuming its her egg. Would I be correct?
Here is a picture of it by a golf ball. Thanks!!

That is very early! Congrats! Post pictures of your birds. Probably the BR like you said.

I recommend blowing out the egg to preserve it.

 

[Granny23]

We got Cookie at 2 weeks old on July 17. I have been keeping track of all our hens ages specifically so Id know when we might get eggs. According to my count she won't be 5 mos until 12/24/21. Don't they start at 6 mos usually??
I have 5 boxes they can lay in but the one they sleep in, the 6th box, is where I found it. All 4 sleep in that box since our rooster Pepper went to the sanctuary. 2 sleep on top of the box and 2 sleep in it. I try to keep straw in the box for warmth and comfort but for the past couple weeks Cookie has been scratching and kicking it all out. What's up with that??
This egg is considerably smaller which Im assuming is normal for a first egg?
Thanks!!

 

[MochaLatte]

It looks like the kind of egg I get from my BR, I'd say that's a good guess! She also looks pretty well developed/red comb and wattles.

Congrats on your first egg!!!

 

[Kiki]

Unfortunately, this is going to cause a LOT of issues in the long run. Trust me, as I have done the same before. This is literal scratch and nothing else. Scratch actually does not have a lot of protein. Chickens need at least 18% protein in my honest opinion. I bet @Kiki has more to say on this topic.

Think of scratch like the candy and cookies of the chicken world diet.

You want to limit junk foods or completely eliminate junk foods.

Do you not have a crumble or pelleted type complete chicken food available in your area?