Rural Gardening: 16 Week-Old Blue Orpingtons Just Beginning to Lay, 1 by Niere

Niere wrote:
Hi everyone--was wondering if I could get some input on our hens. We have five Orpingtons--three Blue Orpington hens and one Blue Orpington rooster and one Splash Orpington rooster. They were hatched around mid-June and the hens have begun laying in the past few days. One hen seems to be laying eggs just fine and another hen seems to be laying eggs with very weak shells that are inevitably broken when I get them. The hens all get the same layer mash and they all spend the day out free-ranging either in the garden or in the yard. I'm going to pick up some oyster shell for them, but I'm surprised they need it as their diet is so varied. I'm also rather surprised by how small the eggs are--when I was growing up we had some RI reds and their eggs were pretty large, these are absolutely dainty in comparison. It's odd how small these eggs are in comparison to the size of the hens. Will the eggs get larger as the hens mature? I'd appreciate any insights. Thanks so much! :D

This message was edited Oct 18, 2010 7:31 AM