Any one want to join me in waiting for eggs, posting and comparing notes?

[AuntB]

Leslie I am in NorCal too--outside of Sacramento. And I just found TWO eggs in the coop!

I have a second layer now! It's about time! But, like the first layer, this second gal deposited her first egg on the poop board, and the other girls pecked at it before I discovered it. I hope that's not a sign of things to come! I looked in the nest boxes after finding the egg on the poop board and found a fresh, warm egg nicely deposited in the nest. Hopefully Layer 2 will get the clue about where to go next time. Layer 1 figured it out, so there's hope!

 

[Crafty-Duck]

How old is she again Crafty, I foget?

MB

She is 5 months now.

 

[Melabella]

My BR's are slower than the others as well, with my Columbian Wyandotte the slowest. One of my BR is more developed than the other, but this is Kate, who has the most, same age as yours, and I don't think she will be laying any time soon.

Where did you get yours from, heritage birds take longer , my flock is hatchery stock.

MB

 

[Melabella]

Leslie I am in NorCal too--outside of Sacramento. And I just found TWO eggs in the coop!

I have a second layer now! It's about time! But, like the first layer, this second gal deposited her first egg on the poop board, and the other girls pecked at it before I discovered it. I hope that's not a sign of things to come! I looked in the nest boxes after finding the egg on the poop board and found a fresh, warm egg nicely deposited in the nest. Hopefully Layer 2 will get the clue about where to go next time. Layer 1 figured it out, so there's hope!

Way to go AuntB!

I hope your second laying girl learns to get to the box as the first one did! ANy pics of your eggs? I have found one of mine warm, but got there too late to see who gave it to me. I got my first egg New Years Eve, and have one a day since. First egg looked different than the next three. I think I have two laying but haven't had two a day yet, so maybe not. If it is just one girl, she has given me an egg a day since four days ago... wow!

 

[AuntB]

I think I have two laying but haven't had two a day yet, so maybe not. If it is just one girl, she has given me an egg a day since four days ago... wow!

I got one a day for four days and then nothing (til 2 today but I have a sneaking suspicion that the egg on the board was done yesterday. It was too dark when I got home to check inside the coop then). I am now a believer that they do lay about an hour later each day until they skip a day. I've seen it and believe it! LOL!

 

[CatSol]

Yahh I can eat the eggs! I got a little turned around with all the info and backtracked to see what I was missing. I hate it when I do that... Like craming for finals and getting two classes mixed up.
It was not a de-wormer that I was using but Corid for the bloody poop (I was wondering why the back of the package did not say anything about a down time). All birds are now healthy and we watched the red head (the one who had the bloody poop) lay her 5th egg in front of us this morning.
We are close to a dozen though.... maybe we will wait for that....

 

[nakstk]

CatSol that's what we did when our first batch of girls started laying last year, was wait until we had our first dozen then started eating them.

 

[DuckieTam]

deleted who cares

 

[Crafty-Duck]

My BR's are slower than the others as well, with my Columbian Wyandotte the slowest. One of my BR is more developed than the other, but this is Kate, who has the most, same age as yours, and I don't think she will be laying any time soon.

Where did you get yours from, heritage birds take longer , my flock is hatchery stock.

MB

Mine are hatchery stock too but yours seems a lot more developed then mine

You have a really pretty girl there!!!!! love her stripes very pretty barring

 

[nakstk]

Melabella I have 14 girls, 12 with a hatch date of July 11th and 2 with a purchase date of July 20th (feed store girls) I think those two are about a week behind my older girls. I would put what I have in my signature but can't figure out where to type it all.

I went to the 20% because they are picking and eating feathers, I have 2 girls with bare backs and they need the protein to get those feathers back. Plus with it being as cold as it is here they are needing more energy to maintain their temps. I do supplement with sunflower seeds, meal worms, or other sources of protein also. I figure it never hurts for them to have a wide assortment of stuff to eat. If I could free range my girls I would, but some people don't think when they let their dog outside around here. I also heard that putting cayenne pepper in their feed will help warm the chickens up and wont affect the taste of the eggs.

We bought the heated watering fount yesterday worked beautifully over night. It holds so little (compared to my 5 gal watering system) that I have to refill it twice a day to keep the girls in water. I figure to use the 5 gal during the day and the heated only at night, that way they have water in the morning, instead of an ice block. I also found some dried grass while at the feed store, it is sold for rabbits and other animals but the chickens are loving the grass even though it is dried. We have also added 2 more heat lamps to help keep part of the coop warmer. I think they hate this cold more than I do! I also had to break down and start giving them grit, we have such rocky and sandy soil it was not needed... until the ground froze.

I have heard of the apple cider vinegar in their water, but heard it was only to help reduce the "slime" that builds up in water. It wasn't until recently that I heard it has health benefits for animals, does it have to have the mother in it or can it be the regular stuff? I also just recently heard of fermenting their feed, I really should learn more about doing these things. I want healthy girls more than eggs, I love watching the girls do the silly things they do.

It has to have the mother in it to get the health benefits. Be careful adding heat to your coop. I did last year because I was new to chickens and thought they needed it. but they don't. If they get use to the heat being there and if you have a power outage for a few days and the heat is gone you run the risk of losing your flock. There is also the risk of a coop fire. Most chickens can handle negative temps with out any heat just fine as long as they have a draft free coop. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/421122/think-its-too-cold-for-your-chickens-think-again