So I have my first egg...now what?

[PAH111]

Hello everyone! My bantam Cochin finally laid her first egg today. I was just wondering, since I'm new to chickens- what do I do now? Is there anything I should change? I really only have chickens as pets, and I only have 2 at the moment, a rooster and hen (or pullet, I can't remember....I'm new to this.) I want to keep them as healthy and happy as humanly possible. Thanks. Oh, and speaking of that, could someone please define all the different names for chickens? I keep hearing words like pullet....and then I get confused. Thanks!

 

[Tressa27884]

Pullet female under one year age, then she becomes a hen. Cockerel / cock a male under one year of age, he then becomes a Rooster. If you have a rooster, you're going to need more than one hen or he will literally wear her out. They should be on starter feed until they are a year old, but it sounds like you're doing everything right so far.

Chicken is a general term and can be used to describe any number of things; ie - I have a flock of chickens. My chicken is driving me nuts. Not gender or breed specific. All the birds I have are chickens but to be more specific; I have one hen, two cockerels, and several pullets.

Hope that helps. I'm sure others will chime in with more information if I'm not including anything or have somehow gotten it wrong.

 

[debid]

It's always the same answer here... To optimize happiness, you need more chickens.

But seriously, does your pullet have any feathers on her back? Usually, folks have a ratio of at least 4:1 because the cockerels tend to be too amorous for one hen to handle all of his affections.

ETA: and it is recommended to switch from starter to either all-flock or layer once chickens reach laying age. Starter is for growing chicks.

 

[devora]

I was just wondering, since I'm new to chickens- what do I do now? Is there anything I should change? I really only have chickens as pets, and I only have 2 at the moment, a rooster and hen.

More girls! That poor lil' Cochin is gonna be exhausted!!

 

[PAH111]

Peanut (my pullet) is still a fluffball...everywhere. My cockerel doesn't seem to be bothering her....but I'm still getting more pullets. Would it hurt to have bantams and standards in one coop?

 

[bobbi-j]

I have one cochin bantam hen and 11 standard sized chickens together. They get along just fine. Enjoy your eggs!