Soft Shelled Eggs

[Booswalia]

Hi,
I just got my first chickens yesterday. They are about 18 weeks old and I found two eggs under the coop. Actually one of the Delaware's was laying the egg when I was looking. Wow! I thought it was it was going to come out her chest.

The shells are really soft and one of them broke. Would this be normal for a chicken that just started laying? The guy that sold me them said they just started to lay this week. I'm giving them some oyster shells but how long before I can expect to see results?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=35496

 

[Ridgerunner]

It is perfectly normal for eggs to be soft shelled, shell less, tiny, huge, double yolked, yolkless, mis-shapen, or otherwise unusual when they first start to lay. It takes a while for the internal egg-laying factory to sort out the kinks. If you are still getting strange eggs after they have been laying for two weeks, then you can start to worry.

Congratulations on the eggs. While not unusual, 18 weeks is a little young to be laying. That's another reason the egglaying factory may be having problems.

 

[Booswalia]

I just finished eating it. It was delicious.

I won't worry about it then. I found it rather odd that they layed right after being transported in a crate in a car for an hour's drive. Perhaps they won't lay again for a while.

The two Delawares are picking on the White Rock which came from a different coop; same owner. They're chasing her around the pen and she's hiding a lot. I assume this is just them establishing the pecking order.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Another thing that could have caused the soft egg is the stress of transportation. The egg was started in the hen about 25 hours before it was laid, so it was started before she was moved. I'd expect you to not get any more eggs for a few days until they get used to the new surroundings.

As long as they are not drawing blood, it is just pecking order stuff. If the Delawares are not letting the Rock eat or drink, you might want to give a separate eating and drinking station for a few days, until they get the pecking order worked out. If they draw blood, you need to separate them and start a new thread about that.

 

[Booswalia]

Thanks Ridgerunner. I'll keep an eye on the White Rock and make sure she's getting enough to eat.