Egg hunt??

[UrbanFarmerKim]

So, my Buff Orpington and Light Brahma are 5 months old tomorrow. I have found no eggs thus far in the coop, but just today my Buff started acting like she would really like to have a rooster so I suspect eggs from her any time (had read that the Brahmas are slower to mature). The question I have, I let my girls (just the two of them for now) free run in the yard all day and only coop them at night. Does this mean I am going to have to go on an egg hunt and look for eggs in all the possible hiding places in the yard? Or will she naturally want to lay her eggs in the coop?

 

[sunflowerbee]

So, my Buff Orpington and Light Brahma are 5 months old tomorrow.  I have found no eggs thus far in the coop, but just today my Buff started acting like she would really like to have a rooster so I suspect eggs from her any time (had read that the Brahmas are slower to mature).  The question I have, I let my girls (just the two of them for now) free run in the yard all day and only coop them at night.  Does this mean I am going to have to go on an egg hunt and look for eggs in all the possible hiding places in the yard? Or will she naturally want to lay her eggs in the coop?

I have the same question.

 

[chickens really]

Hmmmm?
Do not know what you mean by the hen acting like she needs a Rooster......? Hens do not do that. They lay eggs without a Rooster.
Anyways.
How old are your hens
Were they trained to think of the coop and run as home?
If you never taught them the coop is home they will never want to use it.
Pullets usually lay after 15 to 24 weeks old. Depending on stress and conditions it could be longer?

 

[sourland]

Once hens start squatting they generally lay within a couple of weeks. If they are free range, they may or may not lay in the coop. Provide nesting material in the nest boxes and use artificial eggs or golf balls to encourage them to lay there.

 

[sunflowerbee]

I got my first egg on 8/15 she laid in nest box but haven't gotten anymore since.

 

[aart]

Once hens start squatting they generally lay within a couple of weeks. If they are free range, they may or may not lay in the coop. Provide nesting material in the nest boxes and use artificial eggs or golf balls to encourage them to lay there.

Ditto Dat^^^


I assume that this: "my Buff started acting like she would really like to have a rooster",
means she is squatting when you come near and/or touch her back?

Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for 3-4 days can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop 24/7 for a few days to a week, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.