leading up to egg laying

[tav1]

my ladies are 4 months old, i got the on a crumble feed and in a week i'm
gonna start them on layer food. i just made a nesting box for the four ladies.
i put some hay in there to start there process . when should i start putting in a fake egg?
or maybe they'll figure it out.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

You could put the fake egg in there whenever you want. What protein percentage is your feed?

 

[getaclue]

I would not start them on layer feed, until they have all started laying. It's better to wait, than to start them too soon on layer feed. I've never used fake eggs. Shortly before they begin to lay, they will get curious about the nest boxes. Don't panic when you find their first eggs out in the dirt. The don't exactly know what is happening at first, and their timing is a bit off too. Give them a little time, and they will get it all worked out.

 

[Pork Pie]

If you already have the layers feed, then using it as planned is not big deal imo. If not, then waiting, as suggested, makes sense.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I put in the nest boxes with straw and ceramic eggs when their combs were red and they started to squat when I put my hand over them. GC

 

[Sublight]

I personally think that a lot of people overthink the starter crumble vs layer pellet thing a lot. We have always fed our chicks starter until they were a few months old, then we start feeding laying pellets, mainly because they are in the same coop as the bigger chickens.
All of our chickens live long healthy lifes, and lay well, etc. I think people are vastly over analyzing the starter/layer argument.
30 years with chickens, and ive never experienced all the complications that supposedly are caused by giving laying pellets to early. My experience is that it doesn't really matter.

Feed them what you want.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I think that if their combs are red and they are squatting, it's safe to feed layers feed.
I started my early spring pullets on layers feed at 16 weeks, by mixing Start & Grow crumbles with Layers pellets, 50/50. for 2 weeks, then straight layers pellets. They were all squatting, with red combs. The first one laid an egg at 16 1/2 weeks and all were laying at 19 weeks.
They are a sex-links type of chicken and are known to lay early. Most pure breeds lay 2 to 4 weeks later.
It says on the back of a bag of Purina Layena, under Feeding Directions, (Best fed one month before hens begin to lay, but not any earlier than 18 weeks of age). Best fed 1 month before, is not on the tag. GC

 

[getaclue]

A lot of the feed concerns are justified for some, but not for everyone. When raising large fowl SOP birds, that tend to live 8 - 10 years, yes it does make a difference. When raising sex-links for eggs, no it's not as important.

 

[Dayrel]

I put in the nest boxes with straw and ceramic eggs when their combs were red and they started to squat when I put my hand over them. GC

I have one hen that fits this description exactly and is two weeks older than the other two. I just opened up two nest boxes with straw and ceramic eggs two days ago. Nothing happened the first day, but on the second, one or more decided to scratch around in the straw and pushed most of it out into the main coop. Will they figure out to leave it alone on their own or should I try something to correct this?

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

I have one hen that fits this description exactly and is two weeks older than the other two. I just opened up two nest boxes with straw and ceramic eggs two days ago. Nothing happened the first day, but on the second, one or more decided to scratch around in the straw and pushed most of it out into the main coop. Will they figure out to leave it alone on their own or should I try something to correct this?

I like to use shavings. It is harder to kick them out. If you are worried that they will not distinguish the nest shavings from the ones on the floor, you can use a different texture, like Fine.