Couple of random noobie questions

[aart]

Is there anything else I could use as fake eggs, besides gold balls?

You could use anything that is approximately the size and shape of a chicken egg.
Plastic easter eggs filled with sand for weight are often used.

I keep 1-2-3 in all 4-5 nests...and remove and/or move them around sometimes just to see what happens.
You only need 1 nest for every 3-4-5 birds...I have 4 nests for 14 hens, busy days can get a little raucous.

 

[pauleberly]

Good, I've got plastic eggs lol. I've got 10 birds and the way j built my coop there's 4 nesting boxes.

I'll go and throw 2-4 in each box and see what happens

 

[lazy gardener]

I like to glue the plastic EE shut.

 

[aart]

I like to glue the plastic EE shut.

Do you put something in them to weight them down?

 

[Intheswamp]

In regards to the hen squatting, besides the obvious "presenting" herself for mating, this also means that she is submissive to you as if you were "the rooster", which is a good thing...she should be a good hen.

Ed

 

[pauleberly]

She has been my favorite. She's the less skittish (still doesn't like us lol) and to me she's a very very pretty looking bird.

I'm hoping she will lay in the straw, I don't want to have to go under the coop into their dust bathing area to get an egg lol

 

[pauleberly]

So I looked at her vent while I was roughing up her feathers, and I can see it contracting.
I'm assuming this is a good sign

Do I need to worry about her becoming egg bound? Do I need to physically check her vent?

I just want to make sure she is safe. She is eating and running around like normal still

 

[aart]

So I looked at her vent while I was roughing up her feathers, and I can see it contracting.
I'm assuming this is a good sign

Do I need to worry about her becoming egg bound? Do I need to physically check her vent?

I just want to make sure she is safe. She is eating and running around like normal still

The vent will contract whether they are in lay or not........just let her be and wait. ;-)

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've never had an egg bound hen in my 20 years of chicken keeping, so I wouldn't worry about that. They occasionally just contract their vents, I've seen it enough not to think it's anything.

 

[pauleberly]

Thanks guys! I'm probably just a little nervous since it's my first set of chickens and eggs. I did notice she started to do the song this morning