Some laying some not

[Chickenmama1614]

I have comets that are 16 weeks and layed the first egg. The rest of my flock are 20weekers. What do I feed to accomodate all of them? Layer feed? Chick starter with oyster shells? The first egg was a shell less

 

[Birdsong 82]

Are they also comets? Some Breeds lay much earlier than others. And some chickens in general just lay earlier than others like with my Rhode Island Reds they were all the same age but it was about 3 to 4 weeks between when I had the first one lay to when all of them were laying. Layer feed is safe at 20 weeks and oyster shell wouldn’t hurt. It’s not unusual For the first egg or first few eggs to either have no shell or a thin shell or just an odd shell

 

[BirdGirl2004]

Yes, you'll need to ensure that they have access to oyster shells so they have hard, healthy shells. The first couple eggs are always a little weird and wonky, and you shouldn't be too worried. I think that you could go ahead and switch them over to Layer ration since they started laying. Good luck!

 

[Birdsong 82]

And just as a side tip I discovered they make layer feed with oyster shell Mixed in. Mine won’t touch Oystershell I think the pieces are just too big but when it’s already in the feed it’s much smaller and they don’t notice

 

[BirdGirl2004]

And just as a side tip I discovered they make layer feed with oyster shell Mixed in. Mine won’t touch Oystershell I think the pieces are just too big but when it’s already in the feed it’s much smaller and they don’t notice

They have that? That's awesome... I should check that out myself!

 

[Birdsong 82]

Yup. Just found it a few months ago. I was pretty happy about that find two because several times I’ve tried to set oyster shell out for them the first time they did a lot of playing with it but not eating it now they won’t even go near it. But I can’t even see it in the food so it must be ground down a lot smaller

 

[Chickenmama1614]

Are they also comets? Some Breeds lay much earlier than others. And some chickens in general just lay earlier than others like with my Rhode Island Reds they were all the same age but it was about 3 to 4 weeks between when I had the first one lay to when all of them were laying. Layer feed is safe at 20 weeks and oyster shell wouldn’t hurt. It’s not unusual For the first egg or first few eggs to either have no shell or a thin shell or just an odd shell

My others are Rhode Island Reds, Easter Egger and Speckled Sussex

 

[Chickenmama1614]

And just as a side tip I discovered they make layer feed with oyster shell Mixed in. Mine won’t touch Oystershell I think the pieces are just too big but when it’s already in the feed it’s much smaller and they don’t notice

What brand is this amazing feed?

 

[Birdsong 82]

There’s actually a couple different ones. One of them is Purina non gmo oyster shell strong And I’ll have to ask my husband what the name of the one he was getting was. I know that one wasn’t the Purina. I know the first one they sell at TSC. The other one we got from the local feed store but I’m sure it was some kind of national brand. That feed store has a couple of their own but mostly your basic

 

[Birdsong 82]

I have a 14 week old EE that has not started laying eggs yet and doesn’t look like she’s anywhere close to being at that point. It’s probably the fact that they are different breeds. If I remember correctly with my Rhode Island Reds it felt like forever. I want to say it was between 22 and 25 or 26 weeks. I think The Easter Eggers take longer before they start laying. When I look at all of mine they look like they would probably be last. Don’t know much about a speckled Sussex. Never had one of those. They’re waiting on an egg seems like it takes for ever and ever and ever and ever but I have a feeling you’ll be enjoying lots of delicious eggs not too long from now. And those Rhode Island red eggs are worth the wait. They are massive. I’ve weighed some of the double yolk ones that were over 3 1/2 ounces!