Egg laying mishaps

[Renee572]

We are back in business today. It was our biggest day yet - 8 eggs!! And one was green - yay!!   No soft shells, no broken eggs.  We obviously have some more that have started laying which may explain all the oddities this week. So relieved they're not eating them!  

cfischer, I hope your girl is ok. Maybe she is just getting close to laying her first egg. Some of mine acted strange and made tons of noise for a couple of weeks before we got any eggs. They started fussing around in the nest boxes and singing the egg song, so I knew we had to be getting close. Once they started laying, they spent hours in the nests and I thought something was wrong, too, but then I was told it's perfectly normal for them to spend time "nesting" before laying an egg.  

Renee572, I put golf balls in my nests to encourage the girls to lay in there.  It seems to have worked, other than the few that landed under the roosts during the night. Just a thought to help your Australorp figure out where the eggs are supposed to go. 

yup I've tried the golf balls, they are still currently in there. Today's egg was just outside the nest box so maybe she's getting closer to figuring it. I have yet to see any of my chickens actually in the nest boxes checking them out. I have seen a few peeking in them a time or 3 but none have actually stepped in them as far as I know. The bedding doesn't look touched at all ever. I just hope the others decide the nest boxes are good to lay in and maybe my australorp will get it after awhile.

 

[cornishhen]

Yes, maybe if the others start, she will follow suit. I have read that they like to lay where others have, so that might just be the ticket. I was really shocked that mine took to the nests right away. I wasn't expecting that. Especially since we added the boxes to the coop after they had already lived in it for a couple of months. I thought it would freak them out, but thankfully, it all worked out. Good luck with your Australorp!

 

[Renee572]

Ya we also added the nest boxes months after they first went into the coop. I really have not even seen them in them at all so maybe they don't like them. If it turns out that none of the chickens end up using them then we will have to try something different. But right now I am content to let Penguin lay where she feels comfortable since none of the chickens bother her eggs.