Easter Egger club!

[savannahm0m]

You might also try putting golf balls in the nests....a few pecks at them has a tendency to break that habit!

Ha! I used golf balls to encourage the girls to lay in the the boxes (which all do, but one...and she insists on laying on the poop tray in the coop...1 out of 7 isn't bad I guess). Great idea to use the balls to discourage egg eaters!

 

[TheDens]

I didn't even realize that they were laying until my Speckled Sussex laid one right in front of me last week, then turned around and chowed down on it while the others ran in to join her. I think they (or at least she) has been laying, but I didn't realize it because I didn't recognize the egg bits in the coop for what they were.

The shell WAS very soft, so I bought some oyster shell immediately (that's what's in that pan in the background). They've been pecking at it, but the Sussex laid another one in front of me yesterday and it was still soft. I'm hoping that over time, they'll stop as their calcium levels get better, but everything I'm reading has been saying there's no stopping it now that it's started. We'll see. Even if they never stop, I still get a lot of joy from them, so I will just keep them as pets.

I'll probably try the fake egg trick, too. It may not help, but it couldn't hurt.

 

[RoosterLew]

What are you feeding them?

 

[TheDens]

Layena plus omega-3. They also get random kitchen scraps, a handful of peanuts every day as a treat, and they free range for a few hours on most days. The Sussex is obsessed with eating ants, the rest are more interested in grass and weeds.

 

[CGinJCMO]

Layena plus omega-3. They also get random kitchen scraps, a handful of peanuts every day as a treat, and they free range for a few hours on most days. The Sussex is obsessed with eating ants, the rest are more interested in grass and weeds.

I used that feed last fall/winter and had no problem with soft shells so it's not the feed. The only reason I'm not still using it is that it's more expensive and the one store that carries it doesn't always have it in stock.
Hopefully your Sussex will work out the kinks and get harder shells soon.

CG

 

[Jnkbtd08]

My Easter Egger layed her 2nd egg today. She was walking real funny, I thought she was hurt at first. Then I saw her lay her egg on the floor of coop instead of nest boxes. When I picked it up, I was totally grossed out. It was squishy like a water balloon.
I have two separate containers of oyster shell for them. Maybe because it was her 2nd egg.

 

[TheDens]

Speak of the devil...

I was taking a nap a few hours ago while the chickens wandered around the yard, when a chicken started yelling so loudly I could hear it in the bedroom, which is really well insulated. I jumped out of bed and ran outside, expecting to find a hawk attacking my girls or something. Instead, what I found was the Easter Egger, Fish Sandwich, strutting around like she was hot s#!t and belting out the egg song so loudly it could've cracked a wineglass. I looked all around the yard, but couldn't find any sign of an egg, or the remains of one. Maybe she was just practicing, it's the first time I've heard her sing it.

 

[Danniro]

She's only 7 weeks right now but mom was an Ameraucana! Dad was a BO.
So EE hopefully.

 

[WendyF]

She's only 7 weeks right now but mom was an Ameraucana! Dad was a BO. So EE hopefully.

she is so cute, I hope you get your wish. Do you just have to wait for her to start laying to know if she turned out an EE?

 

[Danniro]

she is so cute, I hope you get your wish. Do you just have to wait for her to start laying to know if she turned out an EE?

Well I'm a little new to the concept of EE...
But it seems that because she's only half Ameraucana her eggs might not be EE, right?
Unless it's for certain that the egg colors of the parents would mix and some sort of greenish blue color would emerge...
But she has those little puffy cheeks so we know mom was Ameraucana. I can't be certain but I think the man who sold them would know Ameraucana from normal EE because he also raised show quality serama's so he seemed to know his stuff.