Chicken or the egg first? Guess I'll find out...

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Jstaz

Jstaz

Songster
9 Years
Feb 26, 2015
42
23
104
South Alabama
Hey all, new in the chicken raising bit. My wife and I have had 4 hens (unknown the type) now for about a month. We have one black and white hen (Elsa), one dark red hen (Annie), and two light brown hens (Millie and Mo). They are all about 1.5 yrs old. We get 3 sometimes four eggs per day. As I mentioned, we have no experience raising them and look forward to having them as pets and growing those eggs!

I have a lot of questions such as,

Why did my Annie ay an egg outside her nest and why was it soft-shelled? Will going two days without oyster shells cause that and the stress of two days poor weather (rain storms) cause that?

What's the best feed to give them?

Will bringing a new chicken (or more) to the coop cause grief with the established hens?

There are more questions but before I ask in new threads I will do my searching. That being said, If you have links to any of these topics or know yourself I look forward to your help and thank you in advance.
 
i THINK 1TH QUESTION WHY ? MAYBE VITAMIN THING- IN TIME MAY STOP IT?//// 2TH LAYING PELLETS HAS MOST OF THE NEEDED STUFF.////3TH USeLY A PECKING ORDER -BOSS HEN -IF I WAS PUTTING 1 HEN TOGETHER I'D EXPECT MORE PROBLEMS THAN THREE OR SO THATS BEEN TOGETHER AND THEY ARE SOMEWHAT TERRITORIAL ALSO -SO IF YOU PUT THEM IN A PEN AJOINING THEM FOR A MONTH OR SO AND THEN EITHER PUT TOGETHER OR MOVED TO 1 NEW PEN ALL TOGETHER SHOULD WORK GOOD. THAT JUST MY THOUGHT.
 
Jstaz said:
Hey all, new in the chicken raising bit. My wife and I have had 4 hens (unknown the type) now for about a month. We have one black and white hen (Elsa), one dark red hen (Annie), and two light brown hens (Millie and Mo). They are all about 1.5 yrs old. We get 3 sometimes four eggs per day. As I mentioned, we have no experience raising them and look forward to having them as pets and growing those eggs!

I have a lot of questions such as,

Why did my Annie ay an egg outside her nest and why was it soft-shelled? Will going two days without oyster shells cause that and the stress of two days poor weather (rain storms) cause that? Sometimes, chickens just don't lay in nests. To encourage nest laying, put some golf balls or fake eggs in the nest, make sure the nests are clean, and try to keep the nests in a darkened, secluded area in the coop. Soft-shelled eggs usually occur because of a simple fluke in a hen's reproductive tract, (sometimes due to stress) and aren't anything to worry about. Oystershell should help.

What's the best feed to give them?The best feed to feed laying hens is quality layer feed.

Will bringing a new chicken (or more) to the coop cause grief with the established hens?Introducing new birds will disrupt the "pecking order" for a little while. However, if given time, new birds will eventually integrate perfectly fine.

There are more questions but before I ask in new threads I will do my searching. That being said, If you have links to any of these topics or know yourself I look forward to your help and thank you in advance.
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I'm glad you joined our "flock!"
 
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan :D

Bantamlover's answers were very good. It is hard to add a single bird to an established group, but it can be done with time.sometimes it's best to take the new bird and just introduce it to one of the others separately, and then add both of them back once it has a buddy.
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Oyster shells or eggshells are the best source of calcium. I like the nature wise feeds. And you need to introduce them slowly and carefully. Start by allowing them to see but not touch for a couple weeks. Then let them mix.
 

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