Size matters.

[LER23]

I have a white Leghorn and what I have now decided is an Olive Egger that are both just starting to lay eggs. My leghorn has been laying for a couple of weeks. I had my first olive egg about four days ago. Their eggs are pretty small, lots of yolk, very little white. Is this normal for the Leghorn to lay small eggs with not a lot of white in them? Will her eggs get bigger over time, and have more white in them?
About my Olive Egger: I wasn't sure what she was when I got her. But now that I know she's laying olive colored eggs, I'm fairly certain that one of the parents was a cream leg bar (one is slightly crested, with a neck and head color slightly lighter than the dark body), and I'm guessing that the other parent was either a Maran or a Barnevelder (total guess-just probably a dark colored bird). Her eggs are about the same size as my Leghorn's eggs, with the same ratio of yolk (a lot) to white (not a lot). I have All Flock in the outside feeding container, but I still have starter-grower inside the coop for my two younger chickens. I do supplement protein by giving them daily treats of mealworms, and I also put out oyster shells for them.

I did have a fairy egg from each of them. But subsequent eggs are not a whole lot larger. Should I be changing feed for them? Or just waiting to see what they're normal egg size will be when they're a little older. It being the wintertime, I'm thinking that maybe things are going to progress more slowly for them. I'm just thrilled at they're laying eggs at all right now, but I would like to manage my expectations on size and ratio of yolk to white and length of time it takes to start laying full size eggs, with the understanding that what I am seeing ARE full size eggs.
The pics are of #1 my legbar, #2 my other OE that hasn't laid yet, and my laying OE, my legbar, and another of my birds, that isn't germane to this issue.
Any thoughts?

 

[sourland]

Egg size will gradually increase as they get further into their laying cycle. Your feeding regimen is fine.

 

[LER23]

Egg size will gradually increase as they get further into their laying cycle. Your feeding regimen is fine.

Thanks. Wasn't sure.

 

[aart]

They all can eat the all flock.
What are the protein percentages in both feeds?
Are they consuming the oyster shells?

Fairy eggs...so no yolk inside?
Pullet egg can be very small, it can take days or weeks or months for them to get to 'full' size.

 

[LER23]

Thanks. Wasn't sure.

If they had yolks but were extra-small they are not fairy eggs? Because that is what their first eggs were, yolked, but pretty tiny. I threw the bags away so can't check ingredient amounts, but I supplement with mealworms for extra protein, also corn because they like it. And they forage all day in the backyard whenever possible. I think they are consuming the oyster shells, but not much. Is there another way to provide calcium, as a treat or additive? The shells seem o.k. to me-maybe not as thick as some store bought I have had, but thicker than some store bought I have had, also.

 

[aart]

If they had yolks but were extra-small they are not fairy eggs?

Correct.

Fairy, fart, wind, rooster eggs are usually from a tiny piece of tissue breaking loose from the reproductive tract, or an immature ova(yolk) and the body forms an egg around it. Color can be darker than 'normal' as the pigment coating released has to cover a much smaller area so is thicker. Can happen with any age layer, but more common with older layers.

 

[aart]

I threw the bags away so can't check ingredient amounts, but I supplement with mealworms for extra protein, also corn because they like it. And they forage all day in the backyard whenever possible. I think they are consuming the oyster shells, but not much. Is there another way to provide calcium, as a treat or additive? The shells seem o.k. to me-maybe not as thick as some store bought I have had, but thicker than some store bought I have had, also.

Good to know what nutritive values of your feeds are, you can hang onto the tags if not the whole bags.
Corn has very little protein, and none of the vitamins/minerals/amino acids needed for overall balanced nutrition. Mealworms are high in protein but also high in fat.
Best to keep both of those in small quantities, less than 10% of daily feed volume.