What breed is this?

[lengel]

I bought six pullets from Tractor Supply. They look like RIRs but smaller and have started laying half size eggs at three and a half months. There have been three of these eggs in the last week. I have never seen this before (the occasional tiny egg but not consistently) and they are so very young.

Any idea of what these birds are?

 

[Love4zion]

I bought six pullets from Tractor Supply.  They look like RIRs but smaller and have started laying half size eggs at three and a half months.  There have been three of these eggs in the last week.  I have never seen this before (the occasional tiny egg but not consistently) and they are so very young.

Any idea of what these birds are?  

do you have a picture?

 

[lengel]

They just went in for the night so she wasn't very happy about the pic. They are little. Little birds, little eggs.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They are some version of a sex link, some begin laying early, they eggs will be small because if they weren't your hens would have troubles laying them. They will slowly get bigger over the coming month. Feeding a higher protein diet when young can make hens sexually mature early, though sex links keep laying earlier and earlier.

 

[lengel]

They are some version of a sex link, some begin laying early, they eggs will be small because if they weren't your hens would have troubles laying them. They will slowly get bigger over the coming month. Feeding a higher protein diet when young can make hens sexually mature early, though sex links keep laying earlier and earlier.

Thank you. I need to do some research and find out more about them. They did something disturbing this last week. I went to feed them and found two holes, one in the door to the run and another in the wall of the enclosure. It was clear that they had been pecked out from the inside. I put duct tape over the holes and found peck marks from the inside the next morning. I have never seen such a thing. When my goats get destructive, I associate that with poor nutrition and adjust their diets but I'm not sure what to do for these birds. They eat organic feed supplemented with greens, veg and fruit. Not sure what to do or if anything even needs to be done.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Are you sure that the chickens are doing it? That sounds more like rats which I'm familiar with. Chickens can't peck through wood.

 

[bobbi-j]

Are you sore that the chickens are doing it? That sounds more like rats which I'm familiar with. Chickens can't peck through wood.

Agreed - sounds more like rats.

 

[lengel]

It's possible but both holes are at chicken head level and one has chips pointing out like it was pecked from the inside. Years ago when we had rats, they all burrowed under the run. No one ever bothered to chew holes, especially that small. I'll keep an eye out though and keep the traps baited. The coops are getting old so weathering might explain them getting through.

 

[donrae]

Agree they're red sex links.

Are the holes in wood? I've never had a bird do that. Styrofoam or insulation, yeah. Wood, nope.

 

[lengel]

The hen who was laying is dead. She was lethargic last night. It looked like she was egg bound. I put her in a warm water bath with epsom salts and massaged her abdomen and she seemed to be more alert so I dried her off and put her in a quiet space for a couple of hours. Went to put her in another bath and she threw up and evacuated, had a seizure and passed.

That bird should not have been laying so young.