So I just got my 4 chickens on July 1st (they were a year old in May and are already laying). They have settled in nicely to our backyard home. I let them free range around our back yard, and have issues with them laying their eggs in random places OR on the coop floor rather than the provided nesting boxes. It is hot here in Texas so I haven't left them in the coop for a week or two as I've seen suggested, but I will try it when we have cooler weather. For now I have tried putting golf balls where I want them to lay, tried making the nesting boxes more private and darker, I have put a nesting box in a cooler part of the yard, away from the coop, but no success yet. I have also ordered wooden eggs to replace the golf balls and they should hopefully be arriving soon.
Today one of them found a nice cool dirt spot to lay her egg, this is the first egg she has laid for me since bringing her home (my barred Cochin), and when I retrieved the egg I replaced it with a golf ball, hoping to encourage others. Then my EE went under there and laid hers, so I did the same thing and replaced it with a golf ball. I wouldn't mind them laying there if it makes them happy, and if it's a consistent spot. Is it ok to encourage this? Or am I going to regret it? Otherwise they lay either randomly in the open or in some other super tall grass alongside the house. Or just on the coop floor. Weirdo chickens. Lol
I have other questions about them too. So my Orpington seems to be Queen Bee of the flock. She runs my poor EE and Cochin off whenever they're eating something. It's getting a bit better as time goes on and I try to discourage it when I'm around and she's being a little ridiculous about it. The EE is the bottom of the totem pole. And when she lays an egg the other girls hover around her just waiting to peck it. They don't do this when any of the other lay. She hasn't laid any rubber eggs with me (though my Brahma did shortly after I brought her home), so I'm not certain why they are so eager for her to lay and want to peck at her egg.... Is it simply because she is the least dominant? Or do my chickens have some odd hatered for weird blue alien eggs??? (lol! Kidding) Or are they just evil egg eating chickens? And if that's the case, why just hers?? They have left everyone else's alone..
And ANOTHER question. My Cochin laid her first egg for me today, but it was rather small. Is this normal? Perhaps due to it being a while since she laid, the stress, heat, and such? I'm hoping they'll get bigger. It's the darker brown in the middle. Kind of an odd shape too, I think.
Ok now LAST question (for now ;p ), my Brahma has been laying eggs every couple days it seems. The first egg she laid was a soft shelled egg. She strained and worried for a while before finally expelling it (it was whole), but the last egg I saw her lay she struggled with it too. It was a normal sized, hard shelled, perfectly formed egg. But she strained just as she did with the other one. She had a dirty bottom from when I brought her home (she sat in her poop), and I cleaned a day after the soft shell incident. But still strained and made a fuss beforehand with the normal egg a day later. So I checked her bum again and everything looked normal. I didn't want to harass her too much, but there wasn't anything odd going on from what I could tell. She is eating and drinking normal. She walks around fine and comes over to say hi to me every time I go out, so she seems fine... Until she lays an egg. I tried looking it up, but all I get are things about being egg bound, which she's clearly not. Thoughts?
Here is her straining.
And here is my colorful flock, just because!
Today one of them found a nice cool dirt spot to lay her egg, this is the first egg she has laid for me since bringing her home (my barred Cochin), and when I retrieved the egg I replaced it with a golf ball, hoping to encourage others. Then my EE went under there and laid hers, so I did the same thing and replaced it with a golf ball. I wouldn't mind them laying there if it makes them happy, and if it's a consistent spot. Is it ok to encourage this? Or am I going to regret it? Otherwise they lay either randomly in the open or in some other super tall grass alongside the house. Or just on the coop floor. Weirdo chickens. Lol
I have other questions about them too. So my Orpington seems to be Queen Bee of the flock. She runs my poor EE and Cochin off whenever they're eating something. It's getting a bit better as time goes on and I try to discourage it when I'm around and she's being a little ridiculous about it. The EE is the bottom of the totem pole. And when she lays an egg the other girls hover around her just waiting to peck it. They don't do this when any of the other lay. She hasn't laid any rubber eggs with me (though my Brahma did shortly after I brought her home), so I'm not certain why they are so eager for her to lay and want to peck at her egg.... Is it simply because she is the least dominant? Or do my chickens have some odd hatered for weird blue alien eggs??? (lol! Kidding) Or are they just evil egg eating chickens? And if that's the case, why just hers?? They have left everyone else's alone..
And ANOTHER question. My Cochin laid her first egg for me today, but it was rather small. Is this normal? Perhaps due to it being a while since she laid, the stress, heat, and such? I'm hoping they'll get bigger. It's the darker brown in the middle. Kind of an odd shape too, I think.
Ok now LAST question (for now ;p ), my Brahma has been laying eggs every couple days it seems. The first egg she laid was a soft shelled egg. She strained and worried for a while before finally expelling it (it was whole), but the last egg I saw her lay she struggled with it too. It was a normal sized, hard shelled, perfectly formed egg. But she strained just as she did with the other one. She had a dirty bottom from when I brought her home (she sat in her poop), and I cleaned a day after the soft shell incident. But still strained and made a fuss beforehand with the normal egg a day later. So I checked her bum again and everything looked normal. I didn't want to harass her too much, but there wasn't anything odd going on from what I could tell. She is eating and drinking normal. She walks around fine and comes over to say hi to me every time I go out, so she seems fine... Until she lays an egg. I tried looking it up, but all I get are things about being egg bound, which she's clearly not. Thoughts?
Here is her straining.
And here is my colorful flock, just because!
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), so I either sit with them for a while and end up being there when they lay, watch them from the window, or just check frequently. That way I can snatch the egg up before there's an issue.
