2018 Newbie Chat!

[Anna Ranieri]

I keep mine on the counter without washing until just before eating. They are good for at least a month. Refrigerated they last a few months. You can do a float test if you’re unsure on your eggs date and freshness. In which you drop an egg into a large bowl of water. If the egg floats it’s gone bad. I don’t feed mine the eggshells, instead I compost them for calcium in the garden. I give my girls a container of oyster shells that they can access at any time. Eggshells are a quick source of calcium, often times too quick for it to be a suitable calcium supplement for laying hens.

Thank you much appreciate the advice.
I give my girls a git mix which has oyster shell in it, I no longer leave it in a bowl b'cos they weren't eating it, I put some on the floor for them to scratch at if they want to and I mix it in with their cracked corn mix and wheat they seem to prefer it that way. I like the idea of composting the shells for the garden so I will, thank you for the tip
We don't wash eggs here, not even before use as it is advised not to, thankfully Lilah's eggs are spotless, in fact hers are cleaner than the supermarket eggs my daughter bought a last week to use in baking (Lilah has only started laying this week and my other hens haven't started yet).
I'm going to boil up one of Lilah's eggs for my grandson to try, if he likes them then I'll keep them for him and give the supermarket ones to my birds, they'll only go to waste otherwise.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

Thank you much appreciate the advice.
I give my girls a git mix which has oyster shell in it, I no longer leave it in a bowl b'cos they weren't eating it, I put some on the floor for them to scratch at if they want to and I mix it in with their cracked corn mix and wheat they seem to prefer it that way. I like the idea of composting the shells for the garden so I will, thank you for the tip
We don't wash eggs here, not even before use as it is advised not to, thankfully Lilah's eggs are spotless, in fact hers are cleaner than the supermarket eggs my daughter bought a last week to use in baking (Lilah has only started laying this week and my other hens haven't started yet).
I'm going to boil up one of Lilah's eggs for my grandson to try, if he likes them then I'll keep them for him and give the supermarket ones to my birds, they'll only go to waste otherwise.

I would advise trying to find oyster shells only as they don’t need near as much grit as they do calcium. Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out! Hopefully your grandson loves them.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Today the chicks finally came down the ramp into the run by themselves! They stayed out all day, it was in the 80's so I wasn't concerned about them getting cold and they had good shade too. I wasn't sure if they'd remember to go back in at night so I kept an eye on them. When it got dark enough to concern me I went out to check on them. They were cheeping loudly like distressed, still out in the run. I had to run back in the house, but came right back out and they were halfway up the ramp heading towards the coop door. Unfortunately they saw me and came running back down, lol. So I gently shooed them back up the ramp. Tomorrow I'll wait a few minutes longer before checking on them, lol. I can't believe they'll be 4 weeks old tomorrow! They still sleep under the MHP, but it's on the lowest setting.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I would advise trying to find oyster shells only as they don’t need near as much grit as they do calcium. Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out! Hopefully your grandson loves them.

Oh I didn't realise that - I've just googled and found they sell them at my local pet store so I'll get them a bag tomorrow - thanks again for the advice

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Today the chicks finally came down the ramp into the run by themselves! They stayed out all day, it was in the 80's so I wasn't concerned about them getting cold and they had good shade too. I wasn't sure if they'd remember to go back in at night so I kept an eye on them. When it got dark enough to concern me I went out to check on them. They were cheeping loudly like distressed, still out in the run. I had to run back in the house, but came right back out and they were halfway up the ramp heading towards the coop door. Unfortunately they saw me and came running back down, lol. So I gently shooed them back up the ramp. Tomorrow I'll wait a few minutes longer before checking on them, lol. I can't believe they'll be 4 weeks old tomorrow! They still sleep under the MHP, but it's on the lowest setting.

I giggled at the image of them halfway up the ramp then running back down when they see you lol,

 

[CannedMonster]

Thank you much appreciate the advice.
I give my girls a git mix which has oyster shell in it, I no longer leave it in a bowl b'cos they weren't eating it, I put some on the floor for them to scratch at if they want to and I mix it in with their cracked corn mix and wheat they seem to prefer it that way. I like the idea of composting the shells for the garden so I will, thank you for the tip
We don't wash eggs here, not even before use as it is advised not to, thankfully Lilah's eggs are spotless, in fact hers are cleaner than the supermarket eggs my daughter bought a last week to use in baking (Lilah has only started laying this week and my other hens haven't started yet).
I'm going to boil up one of Lilah's eggs for my grandson to try, if he likes them then I'll keep them for him and give the supermarket ones to my birds, they'll only go to waste otherwise.

They haven’t eaten the oyster shell much because they don’t need it yet as they’re not laying.
When they do start laying their instincts will lead them to eat it.
And like Peepers said, they’ll need a lot more OS than grit.
Agatha and Emily have been eating a lot more now.
I can’t imagine not eating eggs lol.
I eat 3 for breakfast every day.
Not to mention other cooking.
It’s one of the main reasons I got chickens.

 

[BBZZZZTT]

Guys!!
My buff bantam Cochin, Pippin, laid her first egg!


It’s so cute!
View attachment 1536014
It’s exactly 1 ounce.
Here it is next to Agatha and Emily’s eggs.
View attachment 1536016
View attachment 1536018


I’m somehow not surprised that she laid it after I put them in the prefab coop.
I wonder if she felt safer in there?
I actually didn’t have any nest boxes uncovered yet.
I knew Pip and Cricket were probably getting close but unlike Silkie and my standard chickens, I don’t know exactly how old the bantam pullets are.
She laid it right inside the coop door in the shavings.
She made a little depression in there and I went to check on them and noticed she wasn’t in the run with the others.
I saw her through the doorway and she was picking up pieces of shavings and putting them over by her feet.
It reminded me of a bird making a nest.
She got disturbed by me being near and went down the ramp to the run.
That’s when I saw the egg.
I uncovered 2 of the 4 nest boxes for them to use.
I just hope they don’t decide to sleep in them but they’ve been using roosts for quite some time now so hopefully they won’t.

Yay! A cute egg! And a cute pupper!

I hopefully only have pullets. It's interesting to see the different rate if feather developing between the breeds. The Austra White has the most, followed by the Easter Eggers. The Orpingtons are the ones with the least feathers so far. And i'm super curious to see what the EEs will look like as adults.

I had so much fun watching my EEs develop! The variety and mystery is half the fun! Then I was happy waiting to see what color eggs they would lay- I wasn't disappointed!
Out of three EEs I got one blue egg, one light green egg, and one olive egg!

 

[llombardo]

So the younger ones are 21 weeks. No eggs from them yet. The older two were laying at 18 weeks. I know the ages vary but I'm wondering if they don't feel comfortable laying because of the two older girls?

The older ones still chase the younger ones and the younger ones still run for dear life. I need them to start laying so everyone can get along.

 

[Geranium]

Yay! A cute egg! And a cute pupper!



I had so much fun watching my EEs develop! The variety and mystery is half the fun! Then I was happy waiting to see what color eggs they would lay- I wasn't disappointed!
Out of three EEs I got one blue egg, one light green egg, and one olive egg!

I have a lot of brown egg layers so i'm really hoping for some blueish eggs from the EEs!

Chicks are a week old today! I gave them a little dish of dirt from my yard to fool around with and they're having a blast scratching and dust bathing. I also gave them a little chick grit for the first time. I'm going to boil some eggs today to give them as treats. Everyone seems happy and healthy so far. In the picture they're in a box because I was cleaning out their brooder.

 

[CannedMonster]

So the younger ones are 21 weeks. No eggs from them yet. The older two were laying at 18 weeks. I know the ages vary but I'm wondering if they don't feel comfortable laying because of the two older girls?

The older ones still chase the younger ones and the younger ones still run for dear life. I need them to start laying so everyone can get along.

My NNs didn’t start until about 23-24 weeks which is approximately 6 months old.
I’m not sure if your older girls are a factor.
Both Agatha and Emily were going into the coop and checking out the nest boxes for weeks before they started.
But if any of the Wyandottes came in while they were in there they would run out.
Are your younger birds sleeping in there with the others yet?
My dominant hen, Red, never chased Agatha and Emily and all 3 are one flock with Angus now.
Agatha and Emily were afraid of her anyway because she was always with the Wyandottes but after a couple of months all 6 of them would range around the yard together.
It was really Angus that facilitated that because he wanted to keep them all together.
A good rooster will break up fights too so Prince should be a help to you.
They are definitely old enough to be with the others now.