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hi i had my first eggs today but the shell was soft it is the first time the hens have lade ther only around 12 weeks old do i have to give them any oyster shell or is it normal on the first lay

It is normal for the shell to be soft to begin with. Once they get past 16-17 weeks old, you can buy bags of GRIT specifically for hens to help harden the shell. I mix my hen food with about 55-60% layers pellets, 30% maize & corn mix, and 10-15% grit. This works well for me.

It can take a few days to get the laying right, but they will get it right in the end. I just leave a bowl of grit in the runs. This way they help themselves not only to help with egg shells but digestion.

Yep young hens and older hens are prone to soft shells - nothign to worry about!

Agree it's fairly normal in young hens & 12 weeks is young to be laying.  I gave mine oyster shell but they wouldn't touch it so I now feed them a corn mix which has grit in it & have never had a soft shell though have had thin shells sometimes.

hard eggs the next day now had two eggs a day  ;D