Couple of Newbie Questions - Fake eggs and laying

[jwsmith1959]

As the title suggests, I am a new chicken flock owner. Got my girls a month ago (6 Production Reds). They were supposed to be 17 weeks, but I suspect they might have been closer to 14-15 weeks. After being very skittish when I first got them, they have really come along. I did lose one to what I suspect was a raccoon or skunk that probably reached through an area of chain link and grabbed it by the head. The hen was able to get away, but the damage had been done and I found her in the middle of the coop. After some other research, it is possible that a snake got her and gave up after not being able to eat/swallow her. I should have taken some pictures and examined her closer...but wanted to get her out of the coop so as to not disturb the other chickens anymore than they had been.

I did capture a small Rat Snake a couple of days ago and relocated it to the back of my property by a small creek that runs through there. It was a little longer than 2 feet and about an inch in diameter. I'm not sure when it happened but one of my fake wooden eggs has gone missing. I noticed it yesterday...not sure if it was that small Rat Snake? He might have eaten it and regurgitated it...I've looked around and have not found it. I may quit relocating snakes or maybe further away.

Is there any behavior that I might observe when the girls might exhibit prior to them laying? They have been roosting regularly the last week or so, but not using the nesting boxes that I am aware of. Attaching a photo from a few days ago showing their relative size. Not all of them have completely red combs yet. Also, are the fake eggs a waste of time? I got 7 of them for around six bucks. Also attaching a photo of some of my nesting boxes. I have 13 total. Will they start using these during the day or when settling at night? Also, is it possible that they might lay eggs while free ranging? They have been staying close to the coop (maybe 50 yard range). I did find them hiding under one of my cars (van) yesterday when I went to check on them. I suspect one of the resident Red Shouldered Hawks may have spooked them. They came right back to the coop when called. Just checked on them before they came off their roosts and one of them had been in one of the boxes...but no egg.

I know this is getting long, but a couple more questions. Is there anything special I need to be feeding them? I have been sticking with a Growing Mix and Scratch as a treat/reward. I also scattered some oyster shell and grit in front of the coop. Not sure if they have eaten any of that. I also have it in a small trough that is accessible to them, but as far as I know they haven't shown any interest. I have some laying pellets too and wonder if now is a good time to start that? Also, do I need to be worried about any bacteria/salmonella? Any supplements that may help to avoid that? They all appear to be very healthy and not showing any weird behavior. One of the reasons I ask is that a neighbors cows escaped the other night and found their way into my back pasture and I noticed some hoof prints and a couple of cow pies near the coop.

Thanks again for this wonderful site. It is a godsend to be able to peruse the available materials and ask question that pop into my head.

 

[RojoMarz]

How many pullets do you have? 13 nest boxes is a lot. You really only need 1 box per couple of hens...Make sure they are not and do not start sleeping in the boxes. Not a good habit, as the eggs can be dirty with poop.

As the pullets get closer to POL, they will "squat" and slightly drop their wings, when you reach for/above them. The fake eggs are to help show them the nest boxes...gives the impression that someone has already been there, and they seem to like what someone else has/does.

If you free range them, yes, they can lay in while out. Should make sure they are consistently laying in the boxes, before letting them out of the run to roam.

Layer feed can be fed when they start laying. I prefer to feed a higher protein feed (Flock Raiser). It also has less calcium than Layer. My oyster shell and grit is in separate containers, that they can eat as needed/desired.

 

[jwsmith1959]

It is a pretty big coop that I inherited from the previous owner. I added a mixture of Pine and Cedar shavings to all the boxes that had two sides. I have been fixing the coop up some. I still need to put small chicken wire up in a few areas (done most that I could so far). I am somewhat limited due to health reasons and my abilities to take care of (mainly mowing) the 7 acres I have.

Should I clean out a few of the boxes? I plan on changing the shavings as needed. They are great to spread some out on the floor...it helps when I rake and sweep out their poop!

Are their any other feeds I should look at. I still have a good bit of grower mix. I have a hanging feeder that helps with the Leaf Cutter ants I have nearby. I have been treating them with boiling water and it seems to have helped some, but we got over 6 inches of rain over the weekend and I expect them to come back with a vengeance.

 

[neo71665]

Too big, too much space, too many nests is never a problem. You have the boxes use them. They will most likely find one or 2 they all will use, normal chickens.

Remove the cedar shavings. The fumes they give off is bad for chickens.

I only feed all flock with oyster shell on the side. The picture I can see of the one hen they are still right before laying but close. Finish up the grower but I might suggest putting a pan of oyster shell out. They will eat it if they need it.

 

[jwsmith1959]

Too big, too much space, too many nests is never a problem. You have the boxes use them. They will most likely find one or 2 they all will use, normal chickens.

Remove the cedar shavings. The fumes they give off is bad for chickens.

I only feed all flock with oyster shell on the side. The picture I can see of the one hen they are still right before laying but close. Finish up the grower but I might suggest putting a pan of oyster shell out. They will eat it if they need it.

I have thrown out oyster shell and grit in font of the coop for them to peck at if they want. Here is a photo of the little troughs that I have if they want also. I haven't thrown out any extra since I initially put it out when they started free ranging.

The cedar shavings were at least two years old, so I wasn't worried about the smell.

The coop is about 9 X 50. I know that sounds big, but there is a lean-to on one end that cuts about 6 feet off. Plus the nesting boxes and food storage take off an extra foot along the long side. I inherited it and am so glad that somebody else had to build it other than me. My wife has talked about chickens since we got here. I have done a bunch of fixing up...but way better than to have to start from scratch.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You're unfortunately going to continue to have snake and raccoon problems with the chain link fencing, as the holes are too big to prevent reachthroughs and snakes crawling in. Ideally you'd want to reinforce it by covering it entirely with hardware cloth or welded wire, no larger than 1/2" wide, but if that's cost prohibitive then at least cover the bottom few feet of fencing.

Nest boxes aren't for sleeping in, so the fact that your birds are roosting and not using the nests is a good thing. The fake eggs will help show them where to lay once they're ready to begin.

As far as feed, grower is perfectly fine right now. Scratch is ok in moderation, but it's a treat and too much will dilute out nutrients in their diet, so don't overfeed it.

Grit and oyster shell can be provided in a cup somewhere, I have mine in my coop but you can put it wherever it stays dry and makes sense.

 

[3KillerBs]

I may quit relocating snakes or maybe further away.

It's great that you inherited such a nice, big coop!

To keep snakes out (and to prevent raccoons from reaching through the wire and pulling the chickens apart), cover the chain link with half-inch hardware cloth.

Also, are the fake eggs a waste of time?

No, as your hens mature and start laying the presence of the fake eggs tells them, "This is a safe place to lay".

lso attaching a photo of some of my nesting boxes. I have 13 total. Will they start using these during the day or when settling at night?

You want to avoid letting the chickens sleep in the nests so that the nests don't get poopy. If any of them are as high as or higher than the roosts you can cover them up since 6 hens only really *need* 2 boxes.

know this is getting long, but a couple more questions. Is there anything special I need to be feeding them? I have been sticking with a Growing Mix and Scratch as a treat/reward. I also scattered some oyster shell and grit in front of the coop.

Grower or All-Flock until they lay. Layer or All-Flock once they start laying. Keep scratch to a minimum -- just a handful a couple times a week.

Oystershell and grit should be provided in separate containers 24/7/365. Here's my calcium feeder made from an Orange Juice bottle: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/recycled-bottle-feed-scoop-and-calcium-feeder.76244/

Remove the cedar shavings. The fumes they give off is bad for chickens.

I second this. Cedar fumes are a respiratory irritant. Use plain pine shavings or straw in the nests instead.

I find that I very rarely have to clean my nest boxes because all the chickens do in there is lay their eggs.

 

[Chuckie chicken]

We both got RIR's around the same time, I have 8. It looks like mine are slightly older than yours, so I'll share a bit of what's happened here over the past couple of weeks, with some random newbie observations.

With 8 hens, I have three nesting boxes. Usually all but one or two eggs are in the same box. Twice they have used all three boxes. It's more likely that I see two in the same box and one waiting!

I justed used old golf balls as fake eggs and as far as I know, have never had any laid outside of the nesting boxes, with the exception of one without a shell that somebody oops'ed in the run. Totally forgivable!

After one week to get settled I started letting them out of the run to roam around on Apr 23. At that point I was getting 2-3 eggs a day, which climbed daily. For the past 5 days I've gotten 7 eggs every day. If I let them out in the morning, they will go back to the coop to lay; all that to say I'm confident that they know where to lay despite letting them free range before they started.

I have fed them organic layer crumble since they arrived with an oyster and egg shell mix free choice. I've tried all manner of vegetable scraps as well, with slightly less than zero interest, lol. They do like to forage, although I'm not sure how much they eat, they still seem to use a decent amount of feed.

At this point my girls have much larger combs than yours, but looked similar to yours when they arrived 2 ½ weeks ago. Based on that, I would guess yours should start to squat soon when you approach or try to pick them up, as sign they are ready to mate / lay.

Based on my very limited experience, but in similar circumstances, you should be seeing eggs soon!

 

[LaurelG79]

I have thrown out oyster shell and grit in font of the coop for them to peck at if they want. Here is a photo of the little troughs that I have if they want also. I haven't thrown out any extra since I initially put it out when they started free ranging.

The cedar shavings were at least two years old, so I wasn't worried about the smell.

The coop is about 9 X 50. I know that sounds big, but there is a lean-to on one end that cuts about 6 feet off. Plus the nesting boxes and food storage take off an extra foot along the long side. I inherited it and am so glad that somebody else had to build it other than me. My wife has talked about chickens since we got here. I have done a bunch of fixing up...but way better than to have to start from scratch.

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I’m a new chicken owner also. I prefer to refer to mine as pets because they all have to be held each morning my mommy before they’re on their way searching under my acre of trees for their daily consumption of bugs and frogs if they get lucky.
I have a hanging feeder to prevent bugs from getting to their food. I do however give them their oyster shell in a separate bowl. I use to spread it on the ground but they didn’t eat as much. Now that it’s in a bowl it’s nearly gone every day.
Still learning and still enjoying my little flock.