2018 Newbie Chat!

[CannedMonster]

mine is not laying yet but she is only 18 weeks I'm so glad yours started laying

Are her comb and wattles red?
Is she checking out the nesting boxes?
It helps to put a dummy egg in there so they know it’s a good place to lay.
You can buy fake ceramic eggs or even use wooden ones or golf balls.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

I think our broody is slowly breaking me instead. Rosewood (pullet pictured above) has been on again off again broody for a couple months. She’s making the other girls go broody too. I broke Ash yesterday, and today Clementine (pullet in lower cage) is broody along with her.

DH and I are going to give her a nest and a few eggs in our hospital wing section of the coop tomorrow. Wish us luck.

 

[BBZZZZTT]

I wipe off any overt dirt with a damp cloth.
Mine usually aren't too dirty, but I had a perfect storm so to speak of a muddy run after rain plus a full day at work so I couldn't collect eggs until the evening after everyone had been trampling in the nest box 5 times.

I keep them out on the counter as I fill a carton, then when it's full I either give them away or put them in my fridge for me.
I don't really think refrigeration is necessary as early as I do it, but I have more fridge space than counter space in my house.

 

[CannedMonster]

That’s exactly why I refrigerate.
I have more fridge space since we have a second fridge in the garage.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Hello again! I've been gone for a while waiting for my chicks to arrive. I'm BBZZZZTT's Mom and my 5 bantam chicks will be arriving in 2 weeks! 3 EE's and 2 surprises. Can't wait to try to figure out what they give me! Supposed to be all females but I have my fingers crossed they really will be. Since we had so long to wait, finishing the coop has been neglected a bit. It's almost done though, just doors left to hang and a wall to finish. Then only cosmetic things to make it look nice. It's a city coop so looks matter. I want to get a chicken cam too. Our backyard borders a heavily wooded parkway so I'm worried about predators. We buried machine cloth 2 feet out and have 18 inch square patio blocks on top of that. We didn't bury it down very far because of all the tree roots in the area. I hope that will work ok.

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

My husband found our first egg today! So exciting!
View attachment 1495841

Where did they lay it? About how old r the pullets? I am impatiently waiting for mine !!!

 

[JMotuzick]

Plastic easter eggs work good in the nest boxes too. Ours learned on a blue and a yellow one!

 

[Cbarr00]

Where did they lay it? About how old r the pullets? I am impatiently waiting for mine !!!

They are 21 weeks and I have one speckled Sussex laying right now. My husband hasn't built nesting boxes yet so she laid on the floor in a corner. She laid again today and in the same spot as the first egg. I heard the egg song today so went out and she was nesting in the corner.


Ugh then Big Red decided to come at me. I knew to watch him today. I didnt like the way he was eyeing me. I had a bag of dried meal worms and just hit him with that. Guess we have no winners. Oh well I'm sick of dealing with them and stressing about dynamics if it's a no go I'm ok with that.

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

They are 21 weeks and I have one speckled Sussex laying right now. My husband hasn't built nesting boxes yet so she laid on the floor in a corner. She laid again today and in the same spot as the first egg. I heard the egg song today so went out and she was nesting in the corner.
View attachment 1497242

Ugh then Big Red decided to come at me. I knew to watch him today. I didnt like the way he was eyeing me. I had a bag of dried meal worms and just hit him with that. Guess we have no winners. Oh well I'm sick of dealing with them and stressing about dynamics if it's a no go I'm ok with that.

I was given advice on here to peck my bossy chickens back if you a referring to another chick. This has changed my coop dynamic significantly. I was getting charged daily by a bully hen and he others started to follow and it rarely happens now. And when it does i peck back and it’s over. Not sure if that’s the situation you are describing but thought i would share!

 

[PNW_Peepers]

Anyone need a broody or two?!?
I can’t catch a break. I currently have four girls who are broody with only four nesting boxes. None of my neighbors need anymore chicks at this point either.
On a positive note all feather picking has ceased for the most part. I think boredom was getting the better of them. Since I started free ranging in the afternoons I’ve been noticing them all mellow out and get along better.

As for my eggs, they get stored on the countertop. I wash them just as I’m going to use them. I never have dirty eggs, I think due to the material I have in the boxes. I have plastic liners that catch the egg. I sprinkle the liners with dried herbs from the garden every week to keep it looking pretty (for my benefit)