Discovered our first egg! But.........

bow-chicka-bow-bow

In the Brooder
8 Years
Apr 6, 2011
58
0
39
Fuquay-Varina, NC
This past Sunday (7/17) my youngest daughter went out to the chicken coop to check on the ladies and discovered our first egg!
wee.gif
She was so excited and came running the the house with it. We were all excited and it has been sitting in a special dish on the counter. However, since then, we have not had anymore eggs from any of the ladies.
hu.gif


Now for a little background. I have 8 chickens. 5 Black Star Sex Linked and they are approx 17 weeks old. I have 3 Americaunas that are approx. 16 weeks. My two daughters and I went out of town last Thursday for my oldest one's softball tournament and left DH to tend to chickens, but knew he wouldn't bother with them much, so I made sure they had plenty of fresh water and food before we left. So, needless to say, discovering the egg on Sunday doesn't mean someone layed the egg that day. It could have been any day between Friday and Sunday since I checked on them on Thursday before I left. I have noticed several of the nest boxes have been disturbed and looks like someone has tried nesting in them, but we haven't had an egg since. So, is there something I should be doing to help them along?
idunno.gif


They have still been eating the grower/finisher food since I read here that there is no reason to give the layer food until they start to lay. I did buy some layer food on Sunday and mixed some in with the grower/finisher food, but didn't want to do too much if the other girls, who are younger, don't need it yet. Not really sure what to do. So, any ideas about the lack of eggs or if I should give one or the other or both feeds would be helpful. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
big_smile.png
 
Let's see...... CHickens don't start laying until 6 months, and laying breeds like the sussexs, more like 5 1/2 months. So That's a bit early. It could have been an early dud, as hens tht are just starting to lay will lay irregularly. You can take them off of their chick feed at 3 months. Hope I helped
wink.png
 
Oh, Man, you mean my first egg could be a dud!
th.gif
So, I guess I won't be making any quiche or frittatas anytime soon. Oh I was so hoping this was the start of some fresh eggs.
hit.gif
Guess I'll just have to wait a little longer.
sad.png
 
I think it really depends on the breed. I've been reading up on that subject here (mine are 13 weeks) and I've read everything from regular eggs at 14 weeks to nothing at 29 weeks. There are variables from breed to breed (it seems Buff Orpingtons and Light Brahmas are late layers, and Golden comets are early layers, for example), and also from bird to bird. I've also read that it takes a while for a chicken to get "regular" So I wouldn't despair just yet!
 
Quote:
tongue.png
One day... one day. When our girls just started laying, the eggs sort of trickled in, and we were SOO excited. My little red star laid the first one, and she's a week younger than the other girls. Now we're almost overflowing with eggs! Frittatas galore!!!
lol.png
pop.gif


Just a thought... somebody should organize a quiche contest.
 
mine have been laying for 2 weeks now and they are no older than 19 weeks old......It was 4 days between 1st and second egg and than more frequent some are daily now and others are every other.....Alot will depend on the breed mine are White legg horns that started followed by black sexlinks and gold sexlinks and aracannas.. WLHs layed first Followed by GSLs and the BSLs are starting now.....Nothinh from the Aracannas..... I switched to layer at 15 weeks due to the earlier laying of the WLHs and The Sexlinks and alll are doing well. Its normal for them to be inconsistant when new to laying
 
Quote:
I politely disagree with much of what you said...many of the hybrid types of chickens, such as black stars (which the OP has) lay very early, as that was one of the purposes of that breeding. If you read through this forum, you will often find pullets laying at 19, 18, even 15 weeks of age! And it isn't a "dud" type of thing that often...they will often be irregular in the beginning, but once a hen begins to lay, you can typically count on her to repeat the performance in the relatively near future...say maybe a week or less. Also, it is recommended by not only this forum, but also animal feed manufacturers to hold off on the "layer" feed until the pullets are at least 18 weeks old, or beginning to lay, whichever is first. 12 weeks to change from starter to layer is a bit early, IMO.
 
bow-chicka,

It sounds like you are doing things right. Soon you will be making those quiches. And your fresh eggs will be sooo good.

You are sure that there isn't a chicken snake or something stealing your chicken's eggs, right?

Not only will your pullets be a little irregular as they begin their laying, but the heat may be a factor if you are experiencing some of this intense heat. I think that the heat will reduce the chickens feed intake, and there is a direct relationship between feed intake and laying.

Hang in there... before long, you will have lots of eggs.

Post back when you do--- I'd be interested in how long before you are getting 7-8 eggs per day.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom