Eggs

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? In this case it is the egg. There are over 60 different types of chicken eggs. Some eggs are extra large like the ones laid by Leghorns, Welsummers, or Barnevelder chickens. Other eggs that are laid can come in a variety of colors. For example, Easter Egger chickens can lay eggs that color ranges from blue to green, they can even sometimes have a pinkish hue to them. Some other colored eggers are the Olive Egger which lays greenish eggs, the Americana which lays blue eggs, and the Java chicken that lays pink and cream eggs. There are also chickens that lay beautiful dark brown eggs like the Welsummer and Barnevelder Chickens. When chickens first begin laying eggs all sorts of things can happen. New pullets, now called hens once they lay an egg, just beginning to lay have to “learn” how to lay an egg. A common issue with new laying hens is that they hens do not know where to lay. When this happens you can place a fake egg or golf ball into the nesting boxes to help the new laying hen learn where to lay her new eggs. At first a pullet can lay eggs that are extra long and irregular shaped. They can also be soft shelled or without a shell completely.  A new laying hen as well as experienced hens needs extra calcium to help prevent soft shelled eggs. This calcium is most often given to the hens by providing them with crushed oyster shells or sometimes egg shells. Cooking these crushed egg shells at 350 degrees fahrenheit for five to ten minutes is said to kill any bacteria present in the egg shells. Then place the eggs shells in a container for the chicken to eat free choice. Crushing the egg shells is supposed to prevent the chickens from consuming their own eggs when laying. When chickens lay eggs sometimes the eggs can get a little dirty, soiled, if they stay in the nesting box too long, this is why it is important to collect the eggs every morning and evening. Good luck collecting eggs from your new hens! Happy collecting!