Commercial Blacks- Info and Pics! 2nd UPDATE..2 week

[axelsangel]

Ok, she is definitely not a roo! I got my first egg ever this morning...and it didn't come from one of my 2 older BR pullets (21 weeks tomorrow), but from the "possible roo" in question! My CB's will be 17 weeks old tomorrow, and the one with the big comb and wattles laid her first egg!!!

Have you had anymore of your CB's lay eggs yet? Mine will be 17 weeks monday and neither have laid yet...hope it is soon!!!!

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Well, she WAS the only one of my CB's since July 23rd. Four days later one of my 2 Barred Rocks laid. Then a week ago the other BR laid. Sansa, the first CB to lay, has given me an egg every single day. Boring Girl, the first BR, gives about 6 a week. Athena, the other BR, lays sporadically...an egg every 2 or 3 days.

I let my flock free range from about 5 pm till dark...when they put themselves to bed. Yesterday morning I found two soft shelled eggs right outside the run...which means they had to have been laid the night before (how I missed them when I closed the run and coop up that night is beyond me

). Here's pics:




This morning around 9 am I gathered 2 eggs...both were from my BR's. I can tell because for one, they are a bit bigger than the CB's eggs, and also because they are more of a peach color, not dark brown like the CB's. Anyhoo, I checked again around 2 pm, and found 3 more eggs...all dark brown! Which means I have two more CB's laying!

So the short answer is yes, two more started laying viable eggs this morning!

 

[axelsangel]

Well, she WAS the only one of my CB's since July 23rd. Four days later one of my 2 Barred Rocks laid. Then a week ago the other BR laid. Sansa, the first CB to lay, has given me an egg every single day. Boring Girl, the first BR, gives about 6 a week. Athena, the other BR, lays sporadically...an egg every 2 or 3 days.

I let my flock free range from about 5 pm till dark...when they put themselves to bed. Yesterday morning I found two soft shelled eggs right outside the run...which means they had to have been laid the night before (how I missed them when I closed the run and coop up that night is beyond me

). Here's pics:

This morning around 9 am I gathered 2 eggs...both were from my BR's. I can tell because for one, they are a bit bigger than the CB's eggs, and also because they are more of a peach color, not dark brown like the CB's. Anyhoo, I checked again around 2 pm, and found 3 more eggs...all dark brown! Which means I have two more CB's laying!

So the short answer is yes, two more started laying viable eggs this morning!

How are your girls? anymore laying. I haven't got any eggs yet but one has started squatting when I go to pet her. Its so funny when she does it. Hopefully she will lay soon. I still have mine on grower/finisher. What are you feeding yours? Im not really sure when to change the food or what to change it too. Mine are 18 1/2 weeks old now.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

They are doing well! All but one of mine are laying...I get 7 eggs every other day, the off days I get 5-6. Every once in a while I get a soft egg...but it's rare now. I switched mine over from chick start to layer/breeder a few weeks ago. I also offer them oyster shell free choice. I wouldn't switch to layer/breeder till you actually get an egg...BUT...I would offer oyster shell...they'll take what they need, if any. And if you offer them oyster shell before they start laying and they actually eat some, maybe that will help you from not getting any soft shelled eggs like I did!

I really do think the reason why all but one of mine is laying is because they are around other hens that are laying. I think once one of yours pops out an egg, they will all start laying within a week or two of each other! Keep me posted!!

 

[axelsangel]

We got our first 2 eggs today both really light colored small-med size but they were both cracked. They were laid while they were on the roost instead of in a nest. Im not sure who laid them either. I didn't have time to go out and check this morning so my hubby did about noon and found them. Maybe we will get some more in the morning. Im pretty sure it was the two CB's that laid them. I guess i will go tomorrow and get some layers feed and oyster shells for them.

 

[axelsangel]

Well those first 2 eggs we got had to come from the same chicken. We have gotten 1 egg a day since except for saturday when we didn't get any. Today I went out and found this a big soft shell that was busted with a small soft shell coming out of it. The big one had a yolk and the small seems to have one also from what I can see. I have high hopes for these girls.

How are your CB's doing?

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Wow what a strange egg! None of my soft ones looked like that...just soft smooshed shell with the yolk smooshed with the soft shell. Odd!

My girls are doing great. I am keeping a log of the eggs I get. Sansa, the first one of my chicks to lay (and one of the CB's) has laid every single day since July 23rd. As of August 29th all of my girls are laying (I would assume) since I got 8 eggs that day and I have 8 hens...6 CB's and 2 BR's. I have gotten 8 eggs 3 times in the past 5 days.

Something to look forward to (I hope for you!) is that apparently some of the CB's are monster egg layers! On August 21st I got 7 eggs, and one of them was HUGE! I call them monster eggs . One of my CB's is the one laying the big ones...I've caught her in the nesting box right before I found a big egg in that same box. That first whopper weighed 2.2 ounces, whereas the normal eggs I get from everyone else weigh between just under an ounce to 1.5 ounces. I got a monster egg 6 times so far...August 21, 22, 25. 26, 31 and today. They have all been double yolkers but one.

Here's one next to a regular egg.













That one that wasn't a double yolker was a TRIPLE yolker and weighed 3.5 ounces!



Next to a regular egg:



My son holding two monster eggs...the double yolker on the left, triple yolker on the right:



One of the yolks popped when I put it in the pan, but you can see the triple yolks:





And this is the girl laying the monster eggs...her name is Madison (my mom claimed her when she was a chick, the name came from her):






I hope you are lucky like me and get a girl who lays these monster eggs too!

 

[axelsangel]

WOW!!! That must be nice. My eggs are still on the smaller side. And still only 1 is laying.

My girls are very vocal, I feel like they are trying to talk to me every time I go out there. And boy do they get happy when they see me coming. I hope mine start laying monster eggs or just eggs for that matter.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Do you have a roo? I'm wondering if that has anything to do with it. I have a roo, Zeus, Barred Rock, and he started mounting the females a few weeks before they began to lay. Maybe that triggers early egg laying? Cuz Sansa started laying at 16 weeks old, the rest within a month. I dunno. I hope they start laying for you soon!!!

 

[axelsangel]

We can't have roos in city limits. We're not suppose to have but 6 hens but I have 8

.. The others combs and wattles are getting bigger and turning really red so hopefully they're getting ready to start

. I have 2 CB's, 2 RIR, 1 black sex link, 1 Production red, 1 speckled sussex, and 1 dixie rainbow. The dixie rainbow is the yellow chick I posted in this thread, post #13. She is absolutely HUGE! I bet she will lay some whopper eggs. I will try to get some new pics of the CB's tomorrow these are a several weeks old.

This is the dixie rainbow

The dark one is the one laying.

Its so funny when I go into the coop she squats down in this really weird position and and wont move.

How do you tell your CB's from your BR's? The reason I ask is bc your CB's look a lot different than mine. Yours are more stripped like a BR. My light one is somewhat laced and the darker one is more like a dominique. I love the look of the lighter one.