Bragging Rights Reserved ;)

[BriColie]

Our Buff Orp layed the first egg yesterday late afternoon (sometime between 3-4pm)! From our first flock! Exciting times!

Though, i do have some questions for y'all....
Well, we actually found the first egg on the ground...crushed. We aren't sure who laid it (we have 3 buffs, 2 rir, & 1 barred rock hen...& 1 silki rooster - not him, of course )

It was close to our house that we found the egg, where we usually feed the chickens & cats. No cackling happened there. We wonder if a dog or cat got the egg before us & brought it there? None of the hens were interested in it.

But then later in the afternoon when the hen cackled in the coop, we checked & she laid our first retrievable egg. We only know of her laying & it was in a nesting box.

Is it possible it's only 1 laying & she laid twice in one day? It looked a lot like the same egg we collected that was crushed.

Do you think she laid outside or another hen laid outside... or an animal went in the coop & got it? Anyone experience anything similar?

We check for eggs daily since they are at the laying age...now 21 weeks old. No cackling or laying today though. & i cleaned the coop extra today (ususually clean once a week...but cleaned twice this week) & moved their water & food into the coop now.

They are free-ranged chickens btw.

 

[BriColie]

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sometimes when they first start laying they haven't a clue what is going on and they can just drop the egg, my guess is because it feels similar to taking a poop.

Both barred rocks and Orpingtons lay similar eggs as far as the shade of brown, so I would assume they were from different birds, as hens laying more than an egg a day isn't common and is almost biologically impossible.

Another thing that very occasionally happens is an egg can stick to the feathers and the hen walks around with it for a bit.

Not every hen sings the egg song after laying, and some sing even if they haven't laid so it's not a reliable indicator. I have called many a hen a liar because she was singing for no reason.

Chickens don't like change so they will cackle when you move things around in the coop or you clean too much.

It can help to keep fake ceramic eggs in the nests to show them it's safe to lay in them. Congratulations on your first egg. You probably will never know about the crushed egg. Hopefully all are laid in the boxes from now on.

 

[BriColie]

Sometimes when they first start laying they haven't a clue what is going on and they can just drop the egg, my guess is because it feels similar to taking a poop.

Both barred rocks and Orpingtons lay similar eggs as far as the shade of brown, so I would assume they were from different birds, as hens laying more than an egg a day isn't common and is almost biologically impossible.

Another thing that very occasionally happens is an egg can stick to the feathers and the hen walks around with it for a bit.

Not every hen sings the egg song after laying, and some sing even if they haven't laid so it's not a reliable indicator. I have called many a hen a liar because she was singing for no reason.

Chickens don't like change so they will cackle when you move things around in the coop or you clean too much.

It can help to keep fake ceramic eggs in the nests to show them it's safe to lay in them. Congratulations on your first egg. You probably will never know about the crushed egg. Hopefully all are laid in the boxes from now on.

Thank you so much for the great info! We did put some smooth round stones in their box (which is why i think the 1 buff layed there)...it all makes more sense when someone else explains it a little better

Btw, i love your profile picture! Is that a silki rooster??

 

[WyoChickies]

You only have one Orpington? I have a Barred Rock and a Buff Orpington. They lay very different colored eggs. The BR is a brown egg and the Orpington is a light brown almost cream color- like the egg in your picture. I would think it might be from the same hen if the colors are the same. Egg shape is another determinant for me. My hens all lay distinctive shaped eggs. I have also had one of my hens lay two in one day- so it's possible when they are starting out. In short- it could be possible that it's the same hen, but not for sure. You won't know for sure until you see a definite BR egg.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thank you so much for the great info! We did put some smooth round stones in their box (which is why i think the 1 buff layed there)...it all makes more sense when someone else explains it a little better

Btw, i love your profile picture! Is that a silki rooster??

My avatar is a white bantam frizzled Cochin hen, and a bantam blue splash Cochin hen. The frizzled hen is like a cotton ball.

 

[BriColie]

You only have one Orpington? I have a Barred Rock and a Buff Orpington. They lay very different colored eggs. The BR is a brown egg and the Orpington is a light brown almost cream color- like the egg in your picture. I would think it might be from the same hen if the colors are the same. Egg shape is another determinant for me. My hens all lay distinctive shaped eggs. I have also had one of my hens lay two in one day- so it's possible when they are starting out. In short- it could be possible that it's the same hen, but not for sure. You won't know for sure until you see a definite BR egg.

Thank you! We actually have 3 Orpingtons. We are starting to think it's 2 laying...so far. They took the day off yesterday, but today we found 1 egg sitting in the corner of the coop, not a box...we don't know who layed it...But one buff Orpington did lay early afternoon & just wanted to sit on it. She layed in the nesting box (in the same one before where we found the first retrievable egg)...so, we know we have 2 layers, so far only 1 actually using the nesting box.

One of our rir was acting like she wanted to lay an egg & making the song, even tried to go into the box but came right back out. Just in case, we checked her for binding egg & she's clear...you think she's practicing for laying or maybe we took her egg from the corner of the coop & she's upset?

 

[WyoChickies]

Probably just practicing for the real thing. Sounds like you might have two Orpingtons that are laying. Each of my hens lay a distinctive shaped egg and I am mostly able to tell who it's from, even though the colors are very similar (other than the Orp who lays the really light egg).

 

[BriColie]

Probably just practicing for the real thing. Sounds like you might have two Orpingtons that are laying. Each of my hens lay a distinctive shaped egg and I am mostly able to tell who it's from, even though the colors are very similar (other than the Orp who lays the really light egg). 

Thanks for the help! I think it's another Orpington too. We had new layers today! A new buff & the noisest one out of the bunch! & our barred rock too today. Now we are getting eggs everyday with 4 laying, 2 each every other day

 

[BriColie]

All are using the same nesting box now