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

[djmax]

Here some pics of the girls & the Coop - We converted our




daughter old playhouse - worked beautifully

 

[jtbass2756]

djmax....LOL..........makes me wish we had gotten our daughter one so we could use it now.... That is perfect!! ...and I wish we had the $$ to fence in some of our yard for some free ranging. We have 2 acres but very few trees and bushes. The best thing I can say is that our soil is sandy and drains great..as far as the coop. So I just added some coarse construction sand in there and ...perfect.. they love it.

 

[countrygirl74]

Love the egg stories and that fake egg story was a whoot!! As to the comments about flies, I have flies, lots of flies and only 3 girls. I keep everything as spotless as I can, but I have noticed with all the rain, came the flies, it has been dry for almost a week and I've noticed a decline in the flies so I think maybe it's a weather related phenom, but who knows. So, does hanging the vanilla help or make it worse? I've not heard that before. We've had monsoonal rain here all summer long, it's finally been dry for a while but I lost all my green beans and the rest of my garden is a disaster-- If I had to support me and my husband on garden goodies, we would surely starve this summer. Hoping that August is drier and we went from the 90s/100's down to the 60s and 70s. Weird stuff.

I had a terrible time with flies recently so I got both the fly paper and the vanilla trees - cut my flies WAY down so I think it's a pretty good natural way to get rid of them. I mostly have them with my ducks because it's always wet so I do think there's something to having more flies where the moisture is.


On an egg note - all my pullets are coming into lay and taking turns practicing. I've been getting little beginner eggs but since I have so many now, I can't really tell for sure who is doing the laying, except for a couple that I caught in the act. I will know when my new EE lays and when my California White lays since they will not be brown, but other than that, who knows? I just love hearing them sing and run in and out of the coop. My big girls keep me supplied with enough big eggs so I still have plenty.
My ducks are amazing! They have laid every day since they started several months ago, even through extreme heat waves!

 

[jtbass2756]

Ok, Im starting again........I hate these little computers with the finger touch! I get a whole paragraph typed and my thumbs get too close to that little pad.....and before I know it...all my typing is gone.

I have 2 questions: I have 4 boxes and 4 ladies. They are all new layers.. last 2 weeks in fact. 2 of them fight over the first box in the row. If the brahma gets in there...the bossy RIR heads up there and pushes her way in there. Why don't they just go to the next box? I've thought about closing off that one and making them use one of the others just to break this up early...Any thoughts?

Next question: I have a newbie layer...thinking its my younger Golden Laced. Whoever it is, they are not using a box. they are laying it on the board that is where I collect the poop under the roost. It has been soft shelled and Im not worried about that but....why does she use the poop board which is not far from the boxes....like 3 chicken steps away?

Im up to getting 2-3 a day now! They have only been laying for 2 wks

 

[kdwag]

I have 2 nest boxes and 3 hens, and they fight over 1 box, don't know why. They eventually sort it out and everyone gets a turn but sometimes they are awful-- kind of funny to watch though. I think it's a dominance thing...when my girls were laying soft shelled/shellless, they always laid them on the floor of the coop. I almost think they didn't mean to, maybe it was an "accident" sort of thing. Once they got laying hard shelled, they were in the nests and i haven't had one on the floor in a long time.

 

[jtbass2756]

I have 2 nest boxes and 3 hens, and they fight over 1 box, don't know why. They eventually sort it out and everyone gets a turn but sometimes they are awful-- kind of funny to watch though. I think it's a dominance thing...when my girls were laying soft shelled/shellless, they always laid them on the floor of the coop. I almost think they didn't mean to, maybe it was an "accident" sort of thing. Once they got laying hard shelled, they were in the nests and i haven't had one on the floor in a long time.

Thank you kd, I do think this is my youngest hen and she is the lowest one on the peking order. Its really funny to have watched them when they get on the roost also, When they first got here it was the 2 RIRs side by side but lately I've seen the dominant RIR, then the brahma, then the other RIR, then the younger MayceeLacey,, and also these soft shelled have been laid at a completely different time a day. ,LOL I was worried about then cracking the first egg of the first one when the second one comes in. Thank you for the reply, I'll just sit back and relax for a while then

 

[jyurina]

My broody hen(and coincidentally my first hatched hen-1 year old July 11th) just hatched out her first babies!

 

[Delight30]

My broody hen(and coincidentally my first hatched hen-1 year old July 11th) just hatched out her first babies!

Wow, that is awesome!

 

[jtbass2756]

My broody hen(and coincidentally my first hatched hen-1 year old Ju.......ly 11th) just hatched out her first babies!

I can't imagine ho tickled you are!!!! I did not want to go that route since I was getting started but if I can enlarge my run, I would like to do just like what you are doing. I do not have rooster YET...LOL....Ive got to have a little more room first.. I want to see my first little ones hatch also

 

[CatSol]

Hi all... Wow I have missed stuff. Congrats on new eggs... I am still waiting on one of my Buff orp to start. She is getting close to 6 months. Her two sisters have already started. But Daffodil seems to be going at a normal pace for an Orp... her sisters even developed early. But I did see her check out the boxes... It is funny.I have 4 boxes but the girls will fight over a box even when another is open. Or they will just lay together. It is funny when I have 2 chickens and the turkey all in one box.... a little cramped.. From what I hear this is really common and nothing to worry about.
I accidentally have 2 Roos. I did not mean to have any and 1 or both may go away.. But most of my girls will squat for my mom and I. They don't normally squat for the oldest Roo. He is sometimes rough with them and I am thinking they don't like that. Not all the girls will squat for us.... but enough will. I guess they see us as the leaders-of-the-flock ...

. We think it is funny....