Two eggs and thin shelled????

[upstater]

I went out to feed the chickens this morning and like always I check the nesting boxes. Typically I find the rare egg from an early layer, this morning I found two eggs in the same box. They look like they’ve been laid by the same chicken as they look alike.I’ve never seen an egg like this from any of my hens and when I picked them up, one was extremely thin shelled. So my question is ....Can a young pullet lay two eggs at a time and what would cause them to be off color and thin shelled? See attached pics...Thanks in advance !

 

[aart]

Can a young pullet lay two eggs at a time and what would cause them to be off color and thin shelled?

Not likely.
Color and thin shell could be several things.

How old are these birds, in months.....and how long have they been laying??
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

 

[upstater]

Not likely.
Color and thin shell could be several things.

How old are these birds, in months.....and how long have they been laying??
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

They were all born mid to late April. I have 11 pullets and a couple starting laying late August and some in September. There are a few I’ve never even seen in a nesting box but I’m not sure if they are laying or not

I feed them Purina layer feed and Purina Flock Raiser mixed together. They get scratch, sunflower seeds, and mealworms in the morning when I let them into their run. I also give them my vegetable kitchen scraps. I let them out to free range around 3pm when I get home from work.

 

[DobieLover]

They were all born mid to late April. I have 11 pullets and a couple starting laying late August and some in September. There are a few I’ve never even seen in a nesting box but I’m not sure if they are laying or not

I feed them Purina layer feed and Purina Flock Raiser mixed together. They get scratch, sunflower seeds, and mealworms in the morning when I let them into their run. I also give them my vegetable kitchen scraps. I let them out to free range around 3pm when I get home from work.

If you are mixing the layer with the Flock Raiser they are not getting enough calcium.

Put out a couple of containers of oyster shell for them to get the extra calcium they need.
Once they are all laying consistently with hard shelled eggs, I'd keep them exclusively on Flock Raiser. Keep the treats to the bare minimum to prevent dilution of their total protein intake.

 

[upstater]

If you are mixing the layer with the Flock Raiser they are not getting enough calcium.

Put out a couple of containers of oyster shell for them to get the extra calcium they need.
Once they are all laying consistently with hard shelled eggs, I'd keep them exclusively on Flock Raiser. Keep the treats to the bare minimum to prevent dilution of their total protein intake.

thank you!

So ....going forward should I give them just the layer feed or flock raiser with oyster shell on the side? Would you continue with the morning treats and stop Kitchen scraps?

 

[DobieLover]

thank you!

So ....going forward should I give them just the layer feed or flock raiser with oyster shell on the side? Would you continue with the morning treats and stop Kitchen scraps?

I feed Flock Raiser with OS on the side. I'm not a fan of the minimal protein levels found in layer feed. I've never fed layer feed.
I've never been big on treats for the birds or my dogs. I have a flock of 30 birds and toss out 4 handfuls of bird seed each morning then dole out one handful of raisins. That's it. A 5 pound bag of seed will last over a month and I get a container of raisins about every 3 or 4 weeks.

 

[aart]

I feed Flock Raiser with OS on the side. I'm not a fan of the minimal protein levels found in layer feed. I've never fed layer feed.
I've never been big on treats for the birds or my dogs.

Ditto Dat!

I do give some scratch grains daily, to get them out of the coop so I can clean in peace. Amount of scratch is roughly balanced with daily intake of the FR to equal ~18% protein.

 

[rosemarythyme]

So ....going forward should I give them just the layer feed or flock raiser with oyster shell on the side? Would you continue with the morning treats and stop Kitchen scraps?

I'd say it's up to you.

When I don't have chicks around I feed roughly 60/40 fermented grower to layer pellets - it adds in a little more protein than just layer, and reduces the calcium a bit for birds that aren't productive layers. I also have oyster shell on the side and have supplemented individual birds that needed it with additional oyster shell, as I can ID which bird lays which egg.

If I could get any feed in any form, I would prefer to use an all-flock pellet instead of layer but have not found an organic grower pellet that my flock likes.