Wrinkled eggs and first eggs smaller...

[bearz]

I have been getting about 1 egg a day that looks like it has wrinkles or lines in it. We have about 55 hens out there, give or take, so I have no idea who is doing it. Its a white egg. The shell seems solid but I'm just wondering if it is OK to eat?

Also, we have about 20 hens just starting to lay. The 17 month old hens had really slowed down to the point where we were only getting 6 eggs a day. The younger hens are now starting but the eggs are only the size of the small eggs you get in the store. Last year when my hens first started laying I had tons of big, even gigantic eggs, so what is the scoop?

The hens are EEs, RIRs and a couple of Buff Orps along with maybe 6 to 8 cross breeds.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
It's okay to eat, it's just a shell problem. Wrinkled eggs can be caused by a number of things, insufficient minerals or grit, broken eggs in the body that have been repaired by later deposits (body checks), or certain viruses can cause it.

The size of the egg depends a lot upon the weight of the bird when it starts laying and the amount of protein they are eating. Did these hens start laying earlier than the last ones (lower in weight)? Were the last ones consuming more feed because of cooler weather last year than this year? Did you change feed from last year?