And a Newbie Started Laying

So yesterday (Tuesday) we came downstairs, let the girls out as usual and carried on with our day. By about lunchtime, Emma checked the coop waiting to see if they had laid (as they have been a bit off with the eggs lately, Myrtle not laying for 3 days and then laying a very strange shaped egg!) and lo and behold, we had 4 eggs! One was smaller than the others and we think this is from Edna. Took a picture for you all (I know how you must like egg pictures!). The one at the very end on the right is the new egg.

We think its from Edna as Emma has been doing some research and found out that a) technically the girls are not 'hens' yet - they are still pullets, which are chickens in their first year of laying. Once they hit a year of laying then they are hens, and b) you can gauge how far away they are from laying by feeling the distance between the bones in the pelvis and the colour of the combs and wattle. They start out dark, then go pink as they get older and when they are starting to lay should be bright red. This is apparently to indicate to any roosters, should you have any, that they are now sexually mature. we dont have a rooster so no chicken hanky panky! :-)

Looking at both Edna and Edith, Edna has the brighter red comb and wattle, so we think its her. Also she should lay brown eggs with a purple blush, whilst Edith should lay very dar brown eggs, and the new egg is not dark!

However, coming downstairs today to let them out Emma found two eggs in the coop again. One in the perch area, very pale and with a weak shell (but stronger than recent ones) and then one in the nest box. This was literally the egg in one part of the box, the shell, looking VERY flattened, near by. So not sure what's going on and who's laying what!!

Hopefully will be sorted soon!