1st Egg For Me! But, a question! *now with pic*

[Connorrm]

I will post a pic when I get home.

I got my first perfect brown egg from my chicks that were hatched 4/23. If I had to guess it would be a Golden Comet or PR that laid it! I don't think Sp. Sussex lay this quickly.

Also, they laid it on the floor of the coop under where the bottom rung of the roost is (where no hen sleeps...good 6" of shavings there). They have three nest boxes that I put a couple of golf balls in. They have been there for 2 weeks (wanted them to get used to it). Is it normal for them to not use a nest box?

I'm hoping that as the days go on they'll catch up. Should I have moved the actual egg into the nest box? I didn't want to waste it!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Perhaps the first egg surprised the pullet and she laid it where she was.

Congrats on your first egg tho'!

 

[JodyJo]

I have found several on the floor as well....I am going with above poster...it was a surprise to her I guess!

Congrats on egg one!

 

[Connorrm]

Thanks! So the golf balls in the nest boxes won't be a deterrent? It's pretty much right on 16 weeks for eggs. That's pretty exciting! I guess that Hybrid vigor really is great!

I'm super excited! I wish I knew exactly who it was! I have a beautiful PR girl who is the biggest and has had red red wattles and comb for a few weeks. But, they are a cross between NH and RIR, so they still typically take a long time right? Then I have the Golden comets. One seems like she should go. The other looks like she's the size of a leghorn. I wonder what cross typically is used for the golden comets at various hatcheries.

 

[JodyJo]

Quote:
I have golf balls in my boxes now...they started laying a week ago, and did great, then drifted off to the pole barn, where I found a nest of 7 eggs this week...so we are back to golf balls and locking them in!

 

[chicmom]

New layers will sometimes lay their egg right on the ground. I've had that happen several times, and even in the chicken run. Nothing to worry about, as they will get the hang of it!

 

[CarolJ]

The first egg I got a few weeks ago was on the floor of the coop. Then one day last week I opened the nest box and startled the hen who was laying there - and she scrambled out of the box and ended up laying the egg in the run. Other than that, though, they all are laying in the nest boxes. I think the first egg is sometimes a surprise. I bought some ceramic eggs that look so realistic I finally had to write "fake" on them with a Sharpie because I couldn't tell which eggs were real when I'd open the nest box. LOL! As long as you've got nest boxes with fake eggs (or golf balls) and the nest boxes are lower than the roosts, they should start laying in the boxes.

 

[CherryChick]

We have 8 nesting boxes in our coop. When my girls first started laying eggs they did on the floor too. After a couple times they started using the nesting box. Now they all fight over one out of the eight.

 

[dbounds10]

I got some wooden eggs from a craft store and put them in the box at about 18 weeks. I have only had 2 eggs outside the box since they started laying on Aug 8th

 

[Connorrm]

Good to know that it doesn't matter if there is an egg in there!


Also, here's the pic next a Large store bought white egg: