soft shell and ground layer

[Chana]

I have 3 Daisy Rainbows and 3 Issa Browns. They're turning 20 weeks today. Two began laying 3 weeks ago , one 2 weeks ago one last week and this week 1 time had 5th egg.
Today 1 egg had soft shell-this is 2nd time that happened(don't know if same chicken). Is this normal for new layers?
Also 1 seems to lay eggs on ground. Any comment?

 

[Ridgerunner]

The journey through the hen’s internal egg making factory is pretty complicated. A lot of things have to come together correctly to get a perfect egg. As you’ve seen most of them manage immediately, but sometimes it takes a pullet a while to work out all the glitches. One common place you see these problems is the egg shell. Sometimes they can just look weird but getting a soft-shelled or even totally shell-less egg isn’t all that uncommon. Normally they work these things out in a few days but some can take a bit longer. Give her a couple of weeks before you get concerned.

Most pullets have control over egg laying right from the start but some don’t. It is a complicated process. Some start looking for a safe place to lay a week before that first egg but some others seem to be surprised when the first one pops out. They may lay the egg from the roost or just walking around during the day. Again most of these get the process under control pretty quickly but some take a few days. This is more common than the soft-shelled eggs.

As long as the eggs are randomly scattered it’s no big deal. She just hasn’t gained control of the process yet. But if the eggs are in the same place every day, especially if a “nest” has been formed in the bedding or ground, she has decided that is a safe place to lay and it is her nest. She is doing it on purpose. If it is in random spots and not a “nest” keep the eggs picked up but give her time. If it is in a “nest” get back with us so we can discuss options.