I have 3 hens that have just started laying for about a month. The eggs were coming everyday and getting bigger as time went by. Now however, I'm getting 1 large normal egg, 1 tiny little normal egg and a real soft shell egg that breaks in the nest box. What's happening? Is this normal? One hen acts like she needs to sit all the time and doesn't move much. Has anyone experienced this before? Is it normal?
Young hens having a problem
Welcome!
Yes, it's all normal activity.. The cheapest and easiest fix for soft shelled eggs is to save the eggshells from your kitchen till they dry out a little.. then crush them in a bag and feed them to the chickens. They are probably a little deficient in calcium.. the shells will give them a kick and get everything straightened out. No worries.
The hen that wants to stay in there is trying to hatch eggs. If you have a rooster and let her sit on the eggs, (what we call "Broody") she will hatch the eggs. You can try to break her of it by taking her out of there daily, but some hens are pretty dead set on getting babiez.. and are stubborn.
Welcome to the Poultry thread! We would love to see pictures of your girls!! :)