When will my new layers' eggs get bigger?

[tweetzone86]

Hello all! I am new to chicken keeping and this is my first flock

So far only one of my 12 RIR pullets had begun to lay (got 5 eggs from her this week ), and today there were two real eggs in the nest box!!! (note- I have two but they seem to be ignoring the second one. I will add a third soon, and I've got a fake ceramic egg in each one).

I have heard that "pullet eggs" are fairly small, and that definitely is true of these first eggs. They were very, very delicious though!!!

These first eggs seem to be about the size of a golfball and a half (for lack of a better way of describing it) and are considerably smaller than the XL eggs I had purchased from the store previously. I still have several store bought ones, and they are quite a bit larger than these.

But I read that RIR eggs (hatchery reds) are supposed to be XL eggs as well? We eat 5 eggs a day (plus more if I use some in baking) and we've always gotten XL eggs, so we wanted to raise XL egg layers. We are also going to sell the extras to pay for their feed so they earn their keep And yes I have supplemental lighting in the coop set on a timer for about 15 hours and the environment is very conducive to egg-laying.

So my question is- when will the eggs get to "full size"?

And an unrelated note- does anyone have chickens that try to eat their own poop? My birds roost on the bar but a few stubborn ones roost on the nest boxes (two rubbermaid totes with front cut out-I have the coop as the back half of a shed so no exterior egg collection) and when I collected them today one was pecking at the poop on it. I am trying to clean them off frequently but found it a bit bizarre...

 

[Killer Tomato]

My RIR lays a large egg, she's never been an XL, and she's one of my smallest hens. (and not my smartest -- poor little thing, we actually thought she was deaf, she was so dippy about everything). I look at those eggs from the store, from RIRs, and they are just enormous, aren't they? Probably steroids...

She was my first to begin laying, and very consistent. It takes a few months for the eggs to be *decent* sized and not quite so cute looking! One of my barred rocks lays the biggest eggs, jumbos, daily, and my leghorns do medium eggs somedays, then a jumbo, double yolk egg the next.

You should have no problems selling your eggs -- start collecting egg cartons now! (last year, my sister sent me 30 used egg cartons, UPS, at Christmas!)

 

[Killer Tomato]

ps,
I've seen my hens peck at their own poop on occasion, but it's not a regular Hometown Buffet thing. I don't think anyone thinks chicken poo is a delicacy except for my dogs. Which is disgusting, but it helps keep the patio clean, and is consolidating the poo I must clean into one larger pile made by dogs. So, win, win? Yuck. Barf.

 

[aart]

So my question is- when will the eggs get to "full size"?

Could be days, weeks, or months to get up to a 'large' size.
Some may not reach 'full size potential' until the second laying season, after their first molt at about 18 months.

 

[tweetzone86]

Could be days, weeks, or months to get up to a 'large' size.
Some may not reach 'full size potential' until the second laying season, after their first molt at about 18 months.

Ok. Will they molt if I have supplemental lighting? It's a shed with the back half being coop area, so I had to put a light out there anyway and as we're on single income I'm selling the extras to pay for their feed. I set it on a timer for 15 hours/day.

I have a digital scale so I decided to weigh the storebought large eggs I have- 2.1 oz. The one I got yesterday (that we didn't eat) is 1.5 oz, and today's first one is 1.3. I'll start tracking it to see if they're getting bigger

 

[aart]

Will they molt if I have supplemental lighting?

That's a toughy...sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.
First year I used lights, some molted anyway and some waited until spring.
I have had varied success/problems with using lights.
Now I don't really crank up the lights to 14 hours until near solstice, after most have molted.
Lotta controversy here on lighting, many 'pet' chicken owners, a lot of misinformation.
It can have detrimental affect on health and longevity, but I slaughter older hens for stewing before 3 year old and hatch replacement layers every year.

I weighed and recorded my first batch of 6 pullets eggs for almost a year,
that's how I know they can take months to get 'large'.
Here's a handy chart: