Chickens laying in nest box and secretly laying elsewhere

[Nancy H]

Aieee! There's so much I don't know!

But if they aren't brooders, how do they ever hatch out chicks? Or are all Easter Eggers the product of incubators?

 

[Welshies]

Aieee! There's so much I don't know!

But if they aren't brooders, how do they ever hatch out chicks? Or are all Easter Eggers the product of incubators?

Individual birds may brood. Just as some people are oddly unique.
Easter eggers are usually incubated. Large hatcheries which produce them find this less time consuming, and local breeders usually incubate them or place them under a broody hen.
Why are easter eggers so anti broody? Well when a hen goes broody she stops laying. Easter eggers are bred for production, not self sufficiency, so the broodiness has been 95% bred out of them.
If you want a brooder, a breed like a Orpington, Silkie, or game bird type works well.

 

[Nancy H]

Ah ha. That explains it. Well, I'll just keep an eye on the situation. All the hens have laid in the coop before; maybe there's some reason I haven't figured out yet why these two have moved. Or maybe one of them will assert her self-determination and start brooding.

I'd love to get an Orpington or a Silkie. I've seen the former around here, but not the latter so far.

 

[Welshies]

Ah ha. That explains it. Well, I'll just keep an eye on the situation. All the hens have laid in the coop before; maybe there's some reason I haven't figured out yet why these two have moved. Or maybe one of them will assert her self-determination and start brooding.

I'd love to get an Orpington or a Silkie. I've seen the former around here, but not the latter so far.

Silkies are super cute, but i've heard keeping them with other breeds can be a pain. I wouldn't mind a flock, though.

 

[Chelseyb123]

Yeah i have 1leg horn 2rir 2wyandottes that laid sercet nests and my austrolops always in the coop. Chickens are funny and always keep you on your toes lol at least mine do when they are out in about in the summer. The ones that laid sercet nest though would wait until i let them out if i kept them penned up for extra houra in the morning just to lay theyre eggs else where. But once behavior is corrected theu all seem to follow. Good luck!

 

[aart]

I don't know that EE's are bred for production,
they are bred(crossed) for blue/green eggs.
Many EE's are not great producers.
They are not a 'breed' per se...but a cross,
usually using Ameraucana(for egg color) and many other breeds.
That's why EE's have no 'standard' plumage, but a wide variety.
I have had one EE go broody, so it is possible.

 

[Welshies]

I don't know that EE's are bred for production,
they are bred(crossed) for blue/green eggs.
Many EE's are not great producers.
They are not a 'breed' per se...but a cross,
usually using Ameraucana(for egg color) and many other breeds.
That's why EE's have no 'standard' plumage, but a wide variety.
I have had one EE go broody, so it is possible.

Any production breed or hybrid has a small chancr of going broody, it's just rare.

 

[aart]

Any production breed or hybrid has a small chancr of going broody, it's just rare.

True, but EE are not generally a hybrid production cross.

 

[Welshies]

True, but EE are not generally a hybrid production cross.

Technically they are bred for production of eggs. They aren't dual purpose or really ornamental, so...

 

[aart]

Technically they are bred for production of eggs. They aren't dual purpose or really ornamental, so...

Of course they produce eggs, colored eggs are their purpose,
and are not labeled as 'dual purpose' (a rather silly label)....
....but they are not meant to be high production egg laying hybrids like sexlinks, leghorns, etc.