(Apologies for the length!)
First, my 55s are driving me insane. I bought a flock of year-old chickens May 20th, five GFF 55 Flowery Hen hens and one roo, and 3 barred and 2 pencil Rocks. They were locked in the coop (the coop is more like a combo run/coop, 192 s ft) until May 31st with a nesting box made from a Rubbermaid bin. I averaged 2-3 eggs a day from the 55s while they were locked up. From June 1 to June 14, on 10 days, I got 4 eggs from the 55s, 3 days I got 1 egg, and one day I got 5 eggs. The 5 egg day followed a 1 egg day, so it's possible some were laid after I put them to bed on the 1 egg day. June 15, I got ZERO eggs from the 55s and I quit tracking eggs. But, in the next couple of weeks, I would get 1 egg from the 55s sporadically. Never more than 1. Late June, early July, my husband found a nest of 17 eggs at our property line. Talked to a friend, she suggested locking them up again for two weeks, so they would learn to lay in the coop. So, we did, I think for 12 days, and I built proper nest boxes the first day for the coop. During that time, my husband found another nest by our shed with 15 or so eggs, put some of those in the incubator, and they maybe laid 2 eggs a day, but they did lay in the nest boxes. After the 12 days, we let them free range again, and once again, the eggs dropped to nothing, I'd get a 55 egg maybe every other day, maybe. Then one started laying on my back porch where I keep the hay. Then two, then 3. That went on for a few weeks, didn't mind them laying on the porch, at least we could find them there LOL. Ten days ago, we rearranged our pens and moved that flock to our barn, locked them up for a week so they would learn where they lived now. They made little nest in the sand in the barn, once in a while they would lay in the nest boxes, mostly in the sand, sometimes just randomly on the floor, and not in any sort of nest they made. Let them out after 7 days, bedtime came and they tried to go back to the old coop, we had to search the yard for them after dark. So, they have been locked up again for about a week now. My rock eggs are always in the nest box, sometimes I'll get one 55 egg in there, but mostly they make a spot in the sand. TODAY, we had four 55 eggs in the box...that's the first day I've had more than 3 eggs since June 14th. And they were ALL in the nest boxes. Whew, sorry for the long story, here's the question! I am letting them out of the coop tomorrow, we're expecting extreme heat and there just isn't enough airflow in the coop to make them stay in there even with the fans. We already anticipate we'll be on a chicken hunt after dark, and that the 55s won't go back to the coop to lay.
IS THIS A THING WITH THIS BREED????? (Not laying in nest boxes or in the coop/hiding eggs.)
I saw @paintedChix said her 55s didn't lay until they were ELEVEN months old? Is that also a thing with this breed???? What has others' experience been with when 55 pullets start laying? I chose the breed based on the info on the GFF site, and before I hatch any more babies, I need to know if I'm barking up the wrong tree with this breed and should concentrate on others, because my incubator space is at a premium and I don't want to hatch birds that take a year to start laying.
Which leads me to the question...what age do Cream Legbar start laying? (Also from GFF) I don't want to hatch a lot of those if they take forever to start laying, either LOL.
LAST question...sex links! This article says, "Black sex links are created by breeding a barred hen to a non barred rooster." Sooooo.....if I hatch eggs from my Barred Rock, fertilized by my 55 Flowery Hen roo....will the chicks be sex-links?
First, my 55s are driving me insane. I bought a flock of year-old chickens May 20th, five GFF 55 Flowery Hen hens and one roo, and 3 barred and 2 pencil Rocks. They were locked in the coop (the coop is more like a combo run/coop, 192 s ft) until May 31st with a nesting box made from a Rubbermaid bin. I averaged 2-3 eggs a day from the 55s while they were locked up. From June 1 to June 14, on 10 days, I got 4 eggs from the 55s, 3 days I got 1 egg, and one day I got 5 eggs. The 5 egg day followed a 1 egg day, so it's possible some were laid after I put them to bed on the 1 egg day. June 15, I got ZERO eggs from the 55s and I quit tracking eggs. But, in the next couple of weeks, I would get 1 egg from the 55s sporadically. Never more than 1. Late June, early July, my husband found a nest of 17 eggs at our property line. Talked to a friend, she suggested locking them up again for two weeks, so they would learn to lay in the coop. So, we did, I think for 12 days, and I built proper nest boxes the first day for the coop. During that time, my husband found another nest by our shed with 15 or so eggs, put some of those in the incubator, and they maybe laid 2 eggs a day, but they did lay in the nest boxes. After the 12 days, we let them free range again, and once again, the eggs dropped to nothing, I'd get a 55 egg maybe every other day, maybe. Then one started laying on my back porch where I keep the hay. Then two, then 3. That went on for a few weeks, didn't mind them laying on the porch, at least we could find them there LOL. Ten days ago, we rearranged our pens and moved that flock to our barn, locked them up for a week so they would learn where they lived now. They made little nest in the sand in the barn, once in a while they would lay in the nest boxes, mostly in the sand, sometimes just randomly on the floor, and not in any sort of nest they made. Let them out after 7 days, bedtime came and they tried to go back to the old coop, we had to search the yard for them after dark. So, they have been locked up again for about a week now. My rock eggs are always in the nest box, sometimes I'll get one 55 egg in there, but mostly they make a spot in the sand. TODAY, we had four 55 eggs in the box...that's the first day I've had more than 3 eggs since June 14th. And they were ALL in the nest boxes. Whew, sorry for the long story, here's the question! I am letting them out of the coop tomorrow, we're expecting extreme heat and there just isn't enough airflow in the coop to make them stay in there even with the fans. We already anticipate we'll be on a chicken hunt after dark, and that the 55s won't go back to the coop to lay.
IS THIS A THING WITH THIS BREED????? (Not laying in nest boxes or in the coop/hiding eggs.)
I saw @paintedChix said her 55s didn't lay until they were ELEVEN months old? Is that also a thing with this breed???? What has others' experience been with when 55 pullets start laying? I chose the breed based on the info on the GFF site, and before I hatch any more babies, I need to know if I'm barking up the wrong tree with this breed and should concentrate on others, because my incubator space is at a premium and I don't want to hatch birds that take a year to start laying.
Which leads me to the question...what age do Cream Legbar start laying? (Also from GFF) I don't want to hatch a lot of those if they take forever to start laying, either LOL.
LAST question...sex links! This article says, "Black sex links are created by breeding a barred hen to a non barred rooster." Sooooo.....if I hatch eggs from my Barred Rock, fertilized by my 55 Flowery Hen roo....will the chicks be sex-links?
you're killing me with the crockpot talk.
