Questions on Pullet Eggs (picture comparison)

[cstronks]

BYC,

Back in July I bought 9 new pullets for my chicken house and they started laying about 2 weeks ago, but they're laying such tiny eggs. The birds are Rhode Island Reds and Partridge Rocks, and they are full grown. The eggs are incredible small, probably less than two inches high. It's almost comical how small they are. I can't get over the novelty of it, and it has been very funny, however I need to know two things - 1. When will this incredibly small egg phase pass? I know that pullets lay "pullet eggs" that are typically smaller than eggs in later stages, however I do not recall my original birds in my flock laying eggs so small when they were pullets. 2. Has anybody ever had chickens lay eggs that were so small? I mean, these eggs are tiny, and I'm just wondering if this is common of pullet eggs? Below is a picture of one of my older chicken eggs next to the pullet eggs I have been getting. The small egg is probably bantam size.

 

[ChickenLover172]

It's normal for them to lay small eggs at first, like you said, but if it continues and the eggs don't eventually get bigger it could be other factors such as not enough calcium, stress, or something having to deal with their reproductive organs. I would suggest watching their behavior to make sure they are acting normal and healthy before doing anything

 

[cstronks]

They're certainly healthy, as they eat and drink a ton. Their plummage is beautiful and their color is great. Their health is not in question. As for calcium, they are now on layer feed, and the egg shells are rock solid. They're just tiny. I'm hoping they just are small because it is their first attempt at egg laying.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Your first hens probably did lay some pretty small eggs when they started but you may not have had something to compare them to so they didn’t seem so small. We can get pretty excited about the first ever eggs. Those don’t look tremendously small for pullet eggs.

How old are your pullets? That makes a difference too. The younger they are when they start laying the smaller the eggs. I know you bought them in July but you don’t say how old they were when you got them.

The eggs will gradually get bigger but it will be a slow process. They’ll probably have to go through an adult molt before you get eggs the size of the big one you are holding. It’s nature’s way of protecting them. When they start to lay they have not reached full hen size and conformation. Laying really large eggs would stress their body. They still have some maturing to do before they are ready to handle large eggs internally.

Not all hens of the same breed lay the same size egg either. I don’t know if these pullets are the same breeds and from the same flock as your first hens. If the flock has been stabilize for several generations the egg size is more consistent, but hens from different flocks can have significant differences in egg size even if the same breed.

I don’t think you are in any trouble as to final egg size but you are in for a wait.