Soft egg in Pullet

[ambe0487]

I have a 24 week old pullet that just started to lay this week. She has given me 2 eggs, both soft. I know it's her because their is yolk dried to her bottom. She is the only one out of my other 3 pullets that are laying soft.

For feed:

They free range a couple hours a day and since I have a mixed flock I use flock raiser and layena pellets With an offering of crushed egg shells for them as needed. Is there anything I can do or should I not be worried at this point with her being so new to laying?

I'm worried that the egg breaking as it comes out will cause either damage to her or egg eating in the future.

Thanks!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Normal and will correct itself as her laying internals mature. There is a lot going on to make the final product of an egg. Pullets are still maturing and any one or two areas on this assembly line are not ready to perform it's job you get odd eggs. Soft, misshaped, areas of extra calcium deposits, double yolkers, eggs within eggs...you name it.

When it comes to egg eaters I'm not worried. That bad behavior can be chicken specific, maybe a protein deficiency in feed and in my experience doesn't occur if a chicken eats an egg or shells. If I have an ultra dirty egg or an egg got frozen in nest before collecting I throw it on the ground to smash open for the birds. They love it and it does not prompt them to break an egg to eat it. If egg shells are too thin and break in nest they eat them. I'm OK with that as it's normal behavior. Once out of pullet's first eggs phase if the shells are still too thin add a calcium supplement free choice for the birds. Layer feed has all they need. Being a person that doesn't use layer feed, we toss oyster shell on the ground by handful once or twice a week. If shells are getting too thick cut back, too thin toss more on ground. Free choice calcium supplement the layers will eat if they need it. By doing free choice I've never had too thick of shells. The layers know if they need it. Do slack or forget to give them enough and will be reminded when thinner shells start.

 

[ambe0487]

Oh good! Thank you so much for the information. I was super worried about her and wanted to be sure I was doing the best possible things for her reproduction system.