Any chance I'll get an egg before winter?

[LuckyFarrell]

My EE's will be twenty weeks the end of October, any chance they'll lay before winter or will they wait until spring?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think you will see some eggs before too long. I don't know about EE's, but it seems that when they come into lay in the fall, they don't know they are not supposed to lay. Production should pick up when the days get longer in the spring though.

 

[rschunk]

I started getting eggs at about 16 weeks on my Red Sex links. Now I'm getting 6 or 7 a day from my 8 hens!!!!

Today there were 8. I'm getting quite a few double yolks as well. The shells seem a bit thicker than store bought though.

 

[LuckyFarrell]

Wow Thanks, so there is hope for a fresh omelette before the snow arrives.

 

[rschunk]

Good luck...just make sure they have enough food and water and a nest box. You can search the forums but my nest box entrances are lower than the lowest roost so they won't roost on/in the boxes. I feed them 16% layer feed/mash plus veggies and every day they get some cracked corn. Last night I gave them 2 ears of cooked corn and that was gone quickly as well.

I also hang a small head of cabbage in the coop and they decimate it in about 2 days.

Hang a coat hanger from a beam/rafter/roof and straighten it out and jam it down in the head and let it swing free. They love to peck at them.

I put about a 1/2 head of broccoli out yesterday afternoon about 3:30 and when I went out to close them in the coop for the night the broccoli was gone.