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

[bruceha2000]

Bwahahaha! Yeah I used to tell them mine that too, especially my RIR Ginger...she's a little you-know-what. She gets up on the deck to eat my container garden, she chases my poor ducks without provocation, and tries to poop on me if I pick her up half the time. My mom and I call her "Crockpot"

Adding some fresh ginger to the crock pot will make a tasty meal!
Oh, you meant Ginger the CHICKEN!

 

[bruceha2000]

But if I was anxious about getting my hens to lay, I'd do just about anything. Squeeze, shake, stern lectures, bribes, ground them.

Leslie, didn't you see the END of Nelson's post where he said he was JOKING?

 

[blondiebee181]

Wow, I gotta get me some of the chickens that lay that kind of egg!!

OK, so enough joking around. Stencils or are you amazingly talented?

Never mind, I just read a later post that said you hand painted them. I'm very impressed. And SERIOUSLY behind on this thread. I'll never catch up.

Bruce

Thanks Bruce! Yeah, I did it by hand

except for the jewels, those were a stick on design already made. I penciled the designs first to make sure I liked it and then went over them with a thin sharpie pen, works great....my next design with a white egg is a humpty dumpty...

 

[blondiebee181]

Hmmm, just like for people

Yup, although I must admit my girls do get spoiled sometimes with bits of my pizza, or popcorn...they also love cheerios, salt and vinegar chips, corn chips, grilled cheese...they don't get that very often though. If I try to eat my dinner outside on the porch, they all come running over and I have 4 hens sitting at my feet begging like dogs wanting bites! Little poopheads

 

[Rhoise]

Yup, although I must admit my girls do get spoiled sometimes with bits of my pizza, or popcorn...they also love cheerios, salt and vinegar chips, corn chips, grilled cheese...they don't get that very often though. If I try to eat my dinner outside on the porch, they all come running over and I have 4 hens sitting at my feet begging like dogs wanting bites! Little poopheads

hahaha I was eating a turkey sandwich last Sunday out by the coop sitting on a log and they wouldn't give up!!! Had to give them some yum!!

 

[Runawaylobster]

work of course, caused me to fall way behind in my reading... but the main thing about nightshade plants (tomato, pepper, potato {not sweet potato}, eggplant...) is that they are "inflammatory", but tomatoes and (bell) peppers have other properties that sort of help to reduce some of the inflammation...
So... if you are susceptible to inflammation; have RA, Celiac, Lupus, MS or other auto-immune diseases, they can make you not feel so good...
as far as feeding the fruit or veg, to the chickens, that's pretty much fine as long as they don't subsist on only these things... and none of us would only feed our babies tomatoes... the small amount of plant material they consume is inconsequential (most of the time)... these plants can cause photosensitivity... but since most chickens seem to prefer shade when the sun is super bright, IMO photosensitivity isn't that big of a problem

congrats to all y'all who are new egg recipients! mine turned 21 weeks yesterday, and still no eggs, but my BR's are looking really good, nice large fluffy butts and much bigger vents.

You know.... I never had any idea about this, tomatoes are one of my favorites and we have tons of them here where i live... kind of like tomato heaven LOL!! the chickies get lots of them. BUT.. I make my own wine out of whatever is in season, and last spring I made a batch of tomato wine and it came out really nice (very dry white wine with just a hint of tomato). Lately I have noticed that when I drink the tomato wine I get a headache even with just one small glass!!! none of my other wines do that....

PS: still no eggs

 

[Nelson-90]

Put sand on the coop floor and you don't have to worry about being there to catch them! I have sand and it is a good thing because I had one who kept laying at night from the roost. Never broke one! Not even the first soft shell!

thats actually a very good tip thanks

 

[cheeka]

I am wondering about using sand in my enclosure - it would be really nice, but I'm thinking about winter... I live where elevation weather is a factor, I have them protected from wind, yet with plenty of ventilation and circulation ~ and am planning on placing hay bales along the sides, stepping them up along the curve of the dome... for insulation. I'm concerned about how cold the floor would be, or if it matters... I had chickens before, living where winter was not nearly as severe, and they did fine... I know it would be great the other 3 seasons, but it is common for our winter to last 6 long months... October through April.... I saw a new beehive today, only about 9 feet off the ground. I know folks are saying that we're in for an early and harsh winter this year, but the bees are never wrong. 9 feet is very low. I've seen them closer to 18 feet high, that year we had 8 feet of snow in one storm... plus loads of snow from other storms, leaving me with approximately 10' snowbanks into my driveway.
Sand would be so nice... a 5 gallon bucket and a kitty litter scooper...

 

[SophieL]

So I thought when Nugget started laying last week, I would have the rest follow suit pretty quickly. Nope. All my girls are 23 weeks and only one layer. Oh well, an omelette a week for husband and me is not bad to start but dayum, girls, get on it!

 

[CuteTxChicks]

My Barred Rocks are 23 weeks old now... Still no eggs. Boo Hoo!