Small and soft-shell eggs

[ednasgirl]

We have 10 (buffs, rhode island reds and plymouths) twenty wks old. I feed them grain, growth, and laying pellets. So far we have gotten 7 eggs that are very small (like bantams would lay). We suspect the same hen may be the layer since they all look alike. However we did get one darker one that is more the size of a goose egg.
Today we got one small egg this am and another small one this afternoon which it only has a skin cover... No shell!
They are all well fed. We are new at this. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Olive Hill]

They're pullet eggs. This is normal. The first eggs chickens lay are often smaller than usual and will increase with size. Likewise, soft eggs sometimes just happen when they first start laying. Give them some time to get into the groove of things.

 

[countrycluckerskaren]

Agreed give them time to let their bodies work out the kinks of laying eggs. The eggs should increase in size each week. Sometimes you will get a monster egg. At first you will get single yolk, some double yolks, and maybe even a triple yolk every now and then. It is just them getting things worked out. If the soft shells continue mix some oyster shell in their feed. That will help them. This also works well if the egg shells start to get real thin and break easily.

 

[ednasgirl]

Thanks so much. The large egg was a double-yolker.

From the 10 chicks, we suspect one or two may be roosters; very confrontational, etc. One big concern is one of my buffs is having to roost in another area of the house while all the others roost together, happy as clams. She is the bottom of the pecking order and I feel sorry for her. She doesn't get pecked on much as she is getting older, but obviously they won't let her roost with them. What's the deal, I wonder.