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

[sebocat]

So I got my first teensy little egg on Friday night and now nothing since? are they pretty slow when they get started?
They were only 18 weeks on 9-13, so I know they are still just babies.

Also, I am thinking about adding light to the coop in the mornings. Is a regular light bulb sufficient? I need to shoot for about 14 hours, right? I am also going to put some x-mas lights way up high in the coop for a "night lite" - Just a small strand of LEDs.

Does the coop need to be warmer, too (for eggs?)? I live in Alaska, so I know its going to be chilly, but I also know I have cold-tolerant breeds that should weather it out just fine.

If its hard on them to encourage laying in the winter, I won't do it. I want happy girls. Eggs are just a neat bonus

PS I am so interested in maintaining a HAPPY flock I am considering raising mealworms. You'd have to know me to appreciate how bad that freaks me out....

 

[Rhoise]

jajajajajajaja that is cute they were probably all sayin mine mine mine

kinda cute, but we had a barbeque the other night and the girls were mingaling with the crowd....hmm a couple were snatching food out of peoples hands!!! bad girls, i can see problems in the future! my girls are pretty bold and bossy when their hungry. Next time i'll fatten them up ahead, before the guests arrive...Most of our friends are cool with chickens, but if i have an ALEKTOROPHOBIC we're in serious trouble hee hee hee!

 

[Rhoise]

So I got my first teensy little egg on Friday night and now nothing since? are they pretty slow when they get started?
They were only 18 weeks on 9-13, so I know they are still just babies.

Also, I am thinking about adding light to the coop in the mornings. Is a regular light bulb sufficient? I need to shoot for about 14 hours, right? I am also going to put some x-mas lights way up high in the coop for a "night lite" - Just a small strand of LEDs.

Does the coop need to be warmer, too (for eggs?)? I live in Alaska, so I know its going to be chilly, but I also know I have cold-tolerant breeds that should weather it out just fine.

If its hard on them to encourage laying in the winter, I won't do it. I want happy girls. Eggs are just a neat bonus

PS I am so interested in maintaining a HAPPY flock I am considering raising mealworms. You'd have to know me to appreciate how bad that freaks me out....

My second egg took 6 days to come, then sporatic, now a few weeks later almost one a day skip one every week or so....

As far as lights...i can tell you what i did and what i've read......we put in christmas rope lights on a timer started before the days got short(coop and run)...14 hours some in am some in pm....found my chickens when cooped up were getting a bit aggressive bright lights made them picky on each other(at night at roost time they would get up on roost when it got dark outside anyway and just be brutal to each other)...was told first year pullets will lay through winter without lights anyway, since i don't want to turn lights on at 3 or 4am i just decided to have them on in the am around 6:15am till dark(in the middle of winter this will be around 4:53pm) So far so good, after I backed off on pm lights....If your inside coop is big it may not be an issue, I decided i didn't want to get up to feed them before 6:15(thats when I get up for work) on weekends too, so let my overzealous desire for eggs subside, and went back to letting them roost with the natural sunset....You are pretty far north so read and search, there's alot of info on Alaska and chickens as far as wintering and lighting the birds in your area. I don't leave feed out in run or coop because of predators/rodents either, so without an automatic pop door, the chickens are cooped till i let them out to feed...No lights is much less stressful, and easy!!! some lights(mine will be getting close to 12 hours in the dead of winter after daylight savings 5:15-4:53 Dec 21st shortest day sunset in Idaho) a bit more responsability, but easier than getting up at 3am-5pm to feed or not and then the coop being a mess from them being bored and maybe start eating eggs for snacks.

Ditto on the meal worms but they'd have to be in the house and i haven't been able to do it yet kinda chicken hahahaha

 

[Tin Flamingo]

Just popped onto this thread. Any updates on your hens laying since July? Just curious how long it was till they did begin to lay regularly. Any pics? I can't get enough of reading these little stories haha

 

[Nelson-90]

kinda cute, but we had a barbeque the other night and the girls were mingaling with the crowd....hmm a couple were snatching food out of peoples hands!!! bad girls, i can see problems in the future! my girls are pretty bold and bossy when their hungry. Next time i'll fatten them up ahead, before the guests arrive...Most of our friends are cool with chickens, but if i have an ALEKTOROPHOBIC we're in serious trouble hee hee hee!

that is hillarious and funny its just cute those little food mochers

 

[Runawaylobster]

kinda cute, but we had a barbeque the other night and the girls were mingaling with the crowd....hmm a couple were snatching food out of peoples hands!!! bad girls, i can see problems in the future! my girls are pretty bold and bossy when their hungry. Next time i'll fatten them up ahead, before the guests arrive...Most of our friends are cool with chickens, but if i have an ALEKTOROPHOBIC we're in serious trouble hee hee hee!

Love it ....... competition for begging dogs.. Mine would never stand for it LOL

 

[Runawaylobster]

In an effort to make everyone happier I shoveled a bunch of sand into the run...

bad idea for the time of day... It was getting dark and they were desparate to get back into the coop
but were deadly scared of the sand. Some were trying to leap from the doorway to the ramp!!! I had
to push one cochin inside by her butt, and they were trying to perch on the water bucket to avoid stepping
on the sand. Two were so scared they went back to their old habit of flying into the trees where i can't
get them out...

never a dull day!! but STILL NO EGGS

 

[Nelson-90]

In an effort to make everyone happier I shoveled a bunch of sand into the run...

bad idea for the time of day... It was getting dark and they were desparate to get back into the coop
but were deadly scared of the sand. Some were trying to leap from the doorway to the ramp!!! I had
to push one cochin inside by her butt, and they were trying to perch on the water bucket to avoid stepping
on the sand. Two were so scared they went back to their old habit of flying into the trees where i can't
get them out...

never a dull day!! but STILL NO EGGS

that happened to me when i put wood shavings in their coop for the first time they did not like it a t first and now the dust bathe in it like maniacs

 

[Runawaylobster]

that happened to me when i put wood shavings in their coop for the first time they did not like it a t first and now the dust bathe in it like maniacs

One of the best things about having my chickies around is that they make me laugh!!!! can't wait to get home from work and see what they are up to
in the sand. Maybe building sandcastles...

 

[Nelson-90]

One of the best things about having my chickies around is that they make me laugh!!!! can't wait to get home from work and see what they are up to
in the sand. Maybe building sandcastles...

jejejejejej yup yup that sound just about rigth