19 and a half weeks old and still no eggs :( egg countdown anyone??

[fuquay nc girl]

That is pretty awesome to find that many eggs in one pile. We're still waiting for our first, but then again we only have 3 pullets. Congrats to you and good luck!

 

[Lapeerian]

Holy Smokes 63!! thats wild!!! Congrats on the first two you got in the nest box! Treat yourself to breakfast, I ours 10 mins after it hatched for dinner last saturday.How many pullets do you have? I've been wondering and trying to figure in my head how many birds and how long were they tricking you?

I have 10 pullets, but 2 are Ancona (white egg layers) and 2 are EE (colored eggs). All I had in the pile were brown eggs, so that leaves it down to 6. And not everyone was pink until this last week. So they have been laying for at least a couple weeks.
I was expecting odd shapes or soft shells, but they were all perfectly shaped hard shelled. Most were small-medium size, with one looking closer to lg-xlg (maybe the big orp girl). They have been getting the Agway Chick Starter/Grower and transitioning to the layer, so right now about half/half on the feed. With handfuls of oyster shell mixed in, but they are mostly tossed out of the feeder. The 'run' is a large weed patch on a steep bank next to the garage they have access to all day. Occasional treats of soft cucumbers or zucchini from the garden and old bread. I don't give them any special supplements and make sure I don't over do the treats. It has been hot here by our standards, but that means it has been around 95, not 100+.

 

[PoultryGirly]

Okay, so I put a fake egg that looks real into the nesting box. Will that trigger anything? Thanks!

 

[TnMama]

Ok I'm getting really discouraged here in Boise. I've been feeding the girls yogurt mash, and calcium, electrolytes, and layer pellets...Frankie layed her second egg in 6 days, another Dud, at least it was inside the coop again. We went to the movies tonight, when we got home I went out to put them all to bed and Frankie was laying on the floor(not the roost as usual). When I lifted her up to set her on the roost, there it was another soft shelled mushy broken egg

She is 18 weeks and 5 days old, her first egg was @ 17 weeks 6 days old?? Kind of depressing, but thought I'd post just in case there is someone else out there going through what we are. The temps continue to be brutal here high 90's and 100's, Tuesday it reached 106 ugghh!! We are surrounded in the valley by fires so the air is smokey and it's stifling hot. Young hen, temps, calcium? not sure the cause, but will try to remain chin up and be patient, we really didn't expect to start seeing any eggs till the end of this month or so anyway, so 2 is better than none? I guess. I will keep my expectations in check and think positive thoughts

Congratulations to all the first eggers, I am very excited and amazed at all the cool shapes, colors and sizes of everyone first few eggs, oh and I mustn't forget Lapeerian's amazing 63 hidden eggs!!!! All I can say to that one is WOW!
And to the rest of us still waiting for that first pullet to lay or maybe the rest of your girls to start, maybe just to get one normal egg? What ever it is......
HANG IN THERE!!! OUR TIME IS COMING!!!!!!!

YES! 2 is better than none! At least you know they can physically do it. Your time is coming. To make you feel better on only getting 2 in a few weeks : My dear friend lives in Starkville,MS. { Eastern/Central MS} They have 3 RIR's and a roo. She got 1 egg over 3 weeks ago and none since. It's been 100+ for all of us. I'm close to Memphis,and it's been brutal. They will lay,and they will do it well, eventually! According to BabyCenter.com due date predictor my girls are 21 weeks {I suck at math so I had to find a way to get my weeks right}. Only 2 are laying. Ironically enough its 2 of my smallest hens. I seriously think the heat all of us have had this summer from FL to MI , from ME to OR has challenged our babies! We give ours table scraps, lay ration, and occasionally I'll add 1/2 cup of sugar to the big water bowl. They drink gallons a day. I'm still anxious my self. This morning dumb ***** me stepped into the hen house. I noticed something in the box. It was a hen,but I wanted to see which one it was. Well, I walked deeper in and poked my head into the box. You've heard the term,"Mad as a Wet Hen!". Well, I met mad as a laying hen! I scared her so bad. She went back in a bit later and did lay. I was just scared she'd lay in the yard. That's how impatient I am! lol.

 

[blondiebee181]

Ok I'm getting really discouraged here in Boise. I've been feeding the girls yogurt mash, and calcium, electrolytes, and layer pellets...Frankie layed her second egg in 6 days, another Dud, at least it was inside the coop again. We went to the movies tonight, when we got home I went out to put them all to bed and Frankie was laying on the floor(not the roost as usual). When I lifted her up to set her on the roost, there it was another soft shelled mushy broken egg

She is 18 weeks and 5 days old, her first egg was @ 17 weeks 6 days old?? Kind of depressing, but thought I'd post just in case there is someone else out there going through what we are. The temps continue to be brutal here high 90's and 100's, Tuesday it reached 106 ugghh!! We are surrounded in the valley by fires so the air is smokey and it's stifling hot. Young hen, temps, calcium? not sure the cause, but will try to remain chin up and be patient, we really didn't expect to start seeing any eggs till the end of this month or so anyway, so 2 is better than none? I guess. I will keep my expectations in check and think positive thoughts

Congratulations to all the first eggers, I am very excited and amazed at all the cool shapes, colors and sizes of everyone first few eggs, oh and I mustn't forget Lapeerian's amazing 63 hidden eggs!!!! All I can say to that one is WOW!
And to the rest of us still waiting for that first pullet to lay or maybe the rest of your girls to start, maybe just to get one normal egg? What ever it is......
HANG IN THERE!!! OUR TIME IS COMING!!!!!!!

Aw, darn! What kind of hen is your Frankie? Dunno if that has much to do with it but I know some breeds are late bloomers when it comes to laying and her eggs will continue to get better. I share your thoughts about the warm weather, it sure has been hazy and hot. The air has a sort of thickness to it

Sounds like you are feeding them all well, I am sending good, strong, eggy thoughts your way!

 

[blondiebee181]

Okay, so I put a fake egg that looks real into the nesting box. Will that trigger anything? Thanks!

Putting a fake egg will only encourage your girls to lay there, as opposed to in the yard somewhere. When a hen sees an egg already in the box, she thinks to herself "Wow, this must be a good, safe spot for me too" and plops hers down right next to the one that's there. It doesn't suddenly flip the egg laying switch unfortunately. They will start laying when their bodies are ready. But I can tell you my girls took to the fake eggs very well and I haven't found any in the yard yet. Good luck!

 

[TnMama]

It's been an interesting day so far here. Mid morning I saw my RIR,Molly,headed for the hen house. YAY! She's finally going to lay I thought. Then she came out. Not long after I began to hear the strangest noises from her. Noises I'd heard the other day,but upon looking in the hen house and adjacent foliage, no egg. Hmmm. So today when she quit cackling, I went looking for her. Not in the hen house,in the foliage, but I did notice a vacant dog house on the other side of the coop fence. The green structure is our hen house.



I eased over there and could hear her.{had to walk all the way around the shed b/c its easier than going through the briars in front of the hen house. The massive lay cackling was over,but she was still kinda humming.



And so the wait began. and we waited and waited! I walked over there later,maybe 30min. She was kinda hovering. That's when I saw the fresh egg she's laid b/c it was super shinny and noticed at least 2 more. AH HA!!! I knew she'd been laying, it just took me a minute to figure it out just where!

This is what I found when she finally rejoined the flock.



Since I saw the fresh one still shinny after being laid, I knew which one was today. Plus,while the other 2 were a little warmer than room temp. the darkest one was fresh laid warm. That means we have 3 layers! Only 11 more to go. I've also decided to stay out of the hen house except 3x's a day vs the 19 I've been going in there. To hopefully remedy her laying in the dog house, I turned it on end, I placed a laying bucket on the inside of the coop yard,but facing south like the doghouse.

Do any of you think I should set the bucket just outside the hen yard until she adjust to using it? Thanks.

 

[blondiebee181]

It's been an interesting day so far here. Mid morning I saw my RIR,Molly,headed for the hen house. YAY! She's finally going to lay I thought. Then she came out. Not long after I began to hear the strangest noises from her. Noises I'd heard the other day,but upon looking in the hen house and adjacent foliage, no egg. Hmmm. So today when she quit cackling, I went looking for her. Not in the hen house,in the foliage, but I did notice a vacant dog house on the other side of the coop fence. The green structure is our hen house.



I eased over there and could hear her.{had to walk all the way around the shed b/c its easier than going through the briars in front of the hen house. The massive lay cackling was over,but she was still kinda humming.



And so the wait began. and we waited and waited! I walked over there later,maybe 30min. She was kinda hovering. That's when I saw the fresh egg she's laid b/c it was super shinny and noticed at least 2 more. AH HA!!! I knew she'd been laying, it just took me a minute to figure it out just where!

This is what I found when she finally rejoined the flock.



Since I saw the fresh one still shinny after being laid, I knew which one was today. Plus,while the other 2 were a little warmer than room temp. the darkest one was fresh laid warm. That means we have 3 layers! Only 11 more to go. I've also decided to stay out of the hen house except 3x's a day vs the 19 I've been going in there. To hopefully remedy her laying in the dog house, I turned it on end, I placed a laying bucket on the inside of the coop yard,but facing south like the doghouse.

Do any of you think I should set the bucket just outside the hen yard until she adjust to using it? Thanks.

I would say that since they have been going around to where the dog house is, it's probably become a habit to go to that place, so I would start your bucket there and gradually move it closer to the coop each day or two. I would also put a fake egg or two in the bucket you want them to use to further encourage them to lay there. Hens like to lay in places where there are already eggs...they usually aren't picky about having their own space. Why? because they know that since someone else already laid there, it must be a safe spot and they will drop theirs right next to the other one. I'm no expert, but it seems logical to me to start your bucket in the spot they are already accustomed to.

 

[Mac14]

Oh my goodness, I have the same doghouse! I posted a thread about it turning into a chicken house. Here's the link.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/695124/doghouse-now-a-chicken-house#post_9425901

 

[Lewjay]

I have 4 RIRs and got 2 in March and 2 in April. I have put golf balls in the laying boxes and find that they push them out and bury them in the coop. Still no eggs that I can find. I let them out during the day for a bit but keep an eye on them. Been hot and humid here in Ga so not sure if that is slowing things up or what.