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

[Rhoise]

Aww! It's so cute! Yeah, my little Daisy's first egg was very small too...I am suspecting that these are all probably Frankies, unless they have been different colors other than varying shades of brown.....(or perhaps you have other chickens that will lay brown) and hopefully this means her little body is getting used to the egg forming routine and they will continue to improve! I promise all these eggs are perfectly "common" for a new layer. like I said earlier, I read on here that there are all sorts of things that can happen with first eggs...If you didn't see my earlier post, I got a squishy egg this morning too...ick. Dunno for sure who's it was, the shell was so thin it was hard to distinguish a color, but it was either an "oops" of Daisys or one of m other new layers' Petrie or Ginger.

Thanks Blondiebee.........Yes I saw that! I hope it was just a fluke for you and not this horrible hot weather and smoke causing the soft egg! I think I have all brown eggers, Barred Rocks maybe a bit lighter brown? Not sure about the Amber Whites, Betty and Snowflake, but I assume since they are a RI Red cross RI White, that they would lay brown eggs too? It's gonna be hard near impossible during the week to figure who lays what, more so when the teenagers are back to school. My son said Frankie or Francine and Betty White were both messing around behind the shed today so could be either of the three. Its hard to tell Frankie and Francine apart unless they are next to each other(I can but the boys can't) Frankie is first picture Francine is second, very subtle comb shapes and Francine is a little lighter in the breast feathers. This was the girls checking out the new coop lights we strung last night.

FRANKIE...... Francine below


FRANCINE

 

[blondiebee181]

Thanks Blondiebee.........Yes I saw that! I hope it was just a fluke for you and not this horrible hot weather and smoke causing the soft egg! I think I have all brown eggers, Barred Rocks maybe a bit lighter brown? Not sure about the Amber Whites, Betty and Snowflake, but I assume since they are a RI Red cross RI White, that they would lay brown eggs too? It's gonna be hard near impossible during the week to figure who lays what, more so when the teenagers are back to school. My son said Frankie or Francine and Betty White were both messing around behind the shed today so could be either of the three. Its hard to tell Frankie and Francine apart unless they are next to each other(I can but the boys can't) Frankie is first picture Francine is second, very subtle comb shapes and Francine is a little lighter in the breast feathers. This was the girls checking out the new coop lights we strung last night.

FRANKIE...... Francine below


FRANCINE

Hehe, yep mostly brown egg layers! Pretty girls! Little Francine has such a delicate face

That's one thing that drew me to select a few different breeds were the different egg colors. Not only is it easier to tell who's laying what, I have quite a colorful egg basket! I do have 3 that will lay brown though, perhaps there will be some definition in shade to tell them apart... Stay cool in this hot weather! Yoga sounds very relaxing! I did it for a while back when I was dancing.

 

[utlancem]

Having your RIR in with the youngins won't affect her laying when she's ready, just make sure you have a nest box open for her to use. I would suggest putting a dummy egg in it too. Also might want to make sure your younger girls aren't sleeping in the nest cuz then you'll have poopy eggs, good luck!

THANKS!!

So I checked, and all the young ones are roosting and I did put a small white hard ball in the nest box to act as my "dummy egg". I guess all I can do is wait now.

 

[Rhoise]

WHOOOOT HOOOOOO!!! FINALLY!!!

TWO EGGS TODAY!!! BOTH VERY HARD SHELLED
NONE BROKEN
ONE DARK BROWN GORGEOUS EGG AND ONE BROWN WITH BEAUTIFUL WHITE BLOOM SPOTS ALL OVER IT!!!
I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME
THIS MEANS I HAVE TWO HENS LAYING!! AND.......
ONE OF THE TWO WAS ACTUALLY IN THE NEST BOXES,
THE OTHER WAS IN THE SHH NEST BEHIND THE SHED

​

 

[blondiebee181]

WHOOOOT HOOOOOO!!! FINALLY!!!

TWO EGGS TODAY!!! BOTH VERY HARD SHELLED
NONE BROKEN
ONE DARK BROWN GORGEOUS EGG AND ONE BROWN WITH BEAUTIFUL WHITE BLOOM SPOTS ALL OVER IT!!!
I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME
THIS MEANS I HAVE TWO HENS LAYING!! AND.......
ONE OF THE TWO WAS ACTUALLY IN THE NEST BOXES,
THE OTHER WAS IN THE SHH NEST BEHIND THE SHED

​

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PoultryGirly]

How often will new egg laying hens lay?

 

[Jenn907]

My girls are going to be 20 weeks in a few days (give or take). I am super excited for the first eggs to appear. I did put in some plastic "dummy" eggs in the nest boxes last weekend. Think that kinda freaked them out at first, but now I can tell they have been in there with the telltale feathers all over the place. My friend who gave me my chicks got her first egg last weekend, so I am hopeful my girls will get things going soon! I have one RIR, one Barred Rock, one Plymouth Barred Rock, 2 Buff Orphingtons and one Silver Laced Wyandotte. They are all beautiful happy girls and definitely have their own personalities!! I am new to chickens and NEVER thought they would be this much fun and that I would like them this much!!

 

[Mimiko]

My girls are going to be 20 weeks in a few days (give or take). I am super excited for the first eggs to appear. I did put in some plastic "dummy" eggs in the nest boxes last weekend. Think that kinda freaked them out at first, but now I can tell they have been in there with the telltale feathers all over the place. My friend who gave me my chicks got her first egg last weekend, so I am hopeful my girls will get things going soon! I have one RIR, one Barred Rock, one Plymouth Barred Rock, 2 Buff Orphingtons and one Silver Laced Wyandotte. They are all beautiful happy girls and definitely have their own personalities!! I am new to chickens and NEVER thought they would be this much fun and that I would like them this much!!

That egg looks exactly like my newly laying Barred Rock's egg she laid yesterday. Congrats!

 

[wlrabbitry]

Our first egg.... So pretty.
Almost sad I am gonna eat it in the morning....
BaHaHA HA (evil Laugh)

 

[blondiebee181]

How often will new egg laying hens lay?

It takes them about a week to get in "sync" In other words, you may find a few odd eggs at first and their laying may start out sporadic but once they get the hang of things you should start seeing an egg every day. It also may depend on breed, weather conditions and the moult. For instance, specialized laying breeds like Leghorns, RIRs, Barred Rocks, Americaunas...to name a few will hardly skip a day. I've even gotten 2 in one day before. Hot weather is hard on chickens and can sometimes affect their laying, and when they are moulting they will most likely slow down or cease laying while they use their energy to grow feathers, but you won't have to worry about the moult for a while. Also in the winter, laying slows down a bit because the days are not as long and it's ch-ch-chilly! It's also normal for hens to take a day or even two off of laying so don't be surprised if you see an egg a day for 2-3 weeks and then a couple days with none.