Bok Bok Bok...Bgok!!

[FirewifeJess]

Yes, that's what I heard from my window this evening as 4 of my 16 week old pullets sat out in the run refusing to go to bed at 8:30, and were cheering each other on with the same song for several minutes on end. Bok Bok Bok Bok Bok Bok Bok Bgok! Over and over again. Are they finally starting to practice their egg songs? Everyone else had already put themselves to bed but those 4 just carried on and one! Why? LOL

 

[RaeRae2]

My pullets are 21 weeks today, and the first time I heard the "Bok...bok...bok....b'GOK!!!!" was exactly 1 week ago. I got my first egg the same day!

I went out to find my Dark Cornish hen frantically running from nest to nest, freaking out! She ended up laying an egg 10 minutes later. She has since laid 4 more eggs! The last 2 days I started getting a green egg each day also.

Up until this point, the pullets are noisy and cackly but not doing that exact "I just laid an egg" cackle.

16 weeks seems really young, but my friend's Rhode Island Reds started laying at 17 weeks, so I think it depends on the breed? The more production type breeds tend to lay sooner, from what I know. My pullets are more of the slower maturing non-production type breeds.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Thank you for your reply! The birds that I know I can remember were outside were my

Black Australorp
Gold Laced Wyandotte

There were 2 more but I don't remember who. My other hatchery birds are:

4 Easter Eggers (but 2 are only 6 weeks)
2 Buff Orpington
1 Welsummer
1 RIR
2 Marans/EE x

 

[LoveNewChicks]

my rooster did that when he was suprised

 

[HEChicken]

Although we think of it as the egg song they will also sing it in other situations. My splash silkie roo sang it for a long time when he was only 11 weeks old. I had just brought in some new chicks and I think it unsettled him. A couple of weeks ago I had a fox attack and the hens, who could see the fox before I did, started singing the egg song - in that case it was a sign of distress.

16 weeks is pretty young and it may still be a few weeks before you see eggs - more likely something unsettled them and once one starts, the others all join in.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Although we think of it as the egg song they will also sing it in other situations. My splash silkie roo sang it for a long time when he was only 11 weeks old. I had just brought in some new chicks and I think it unsettled him. A couple of weeks ago I had a fox attack and the hens, who could see the fox before I did, started singing the egg song - in that case it was a sign of distress.

16 weeks is pretty young and it may still be a few weeks before you see eggs - more likely something unsettled them and once one starts, the others all join in.

I think this could be accurate. I got 2 new birds that live in the rabbit hutch in the run this week; all the birds are still a bit unsettled from that. They are also confined to the coop and run right now for medication from Wed-Sun, so that could be it as well. They are very used to free-ranging all day long instead. Poor babies.