TINY EGG!!!

[nwe319]

So I've only had one hen who was laying, but today there were 2 eggs in the boxes, I'm assuming the one that always lays, and the other decided to finally start laying. The problem however was that the egg was tiny! I wanted to know 1) Is it normal for a hen's first egg to be small? and 2) Will they always be this size???



I've added a pic where far right is a Large egg, Middle egg is a medium (the norm from my hen) and the far left is this egg I found today.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Have your chickens ran out of water lately?

 

[Fierlin1182]

It's normal for first eggs and a few after that to be a little weird. Even a long-time layer can sometimes lay a small egg, which is called a fart egg. It's pretty normal. Wait and see if your new layer starts picking up a bit over the next few days.
Aside from that, congratulations on the egg!


(Wow, I can't believe this is my 9000th post. I spend too much time on here. Go BYC. )

 

[nwe319]

JerseGianFolk, they have not ran out of water lately.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I can't see your picture - but I can tell you that it's normal for a new pullet to lay a much smaller egg when they first start out. Then the eggs will get larger as time goes by. My White Leghorn started laying on Thanksgiving Day 2011 and her eggs increased to be normal size by Christmas. My Lavender Orpingtons started laying at the beginning of March 2012 and their eggs are still increasing in size.

WL's 1st egg:

Here's my 1st LO egg in the container with my WL's eggs.

So I've only had one hen who was laying, but today there were 2 eggs in the boxes, I'm assuming the one that always lays, and the other decided to finally start laying. The problem however was that the egg was tiny! I wanted to know 1) Is it normal for a hen's first egg to be small? and 2) Will they always be this size???



I've added a pic where far right is a Large egg, Middle egg is a medium (the norm from my hen) and the far left is this egg I found today.

 

[Jakl]

The first few eggs can be weird. Usually inside the little egg, it's all white, with no, or very little yolk. Sometimes it's ALL yolk. Once in a while, they forget (lol here) to put a shell on an egg, and you end up with a leather covered egg. Not to worry, your young layer will have bigger and bigger eggs, until they are normal size. Think of it like a test egg.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Yes, the hens/pullets are just starting up, so the eggs can be pretty funky when they start laying, said above.
I asked if they ran out of water because laying hens need a constant water source or it could throw them off, making some eggs small and no eggs at all.

 

[chloezoebob101]

Is she a bantam??

 

[terryg]

Hens do lay some odd eggs, but it should be an infrequent occurrence, and usually when the pullets begin to lay. You'll find tiny "fart" or "wind" eggs that don't have yolks. You'll find huge eggs that are double-yolkers. You'll find eggs with funny shells. If you consistently have odd eggs from all of your hens, that you have issues - either stress or disease, or as someone else mentioned, an inconsistent supply of water.

 

[wvgal61]

We even got a 3 yolk from a new layer.