Eggs!!

[tiffanyhurd]

This is my first time having chickens. My two older girls are 41/2-5months old, one is a RIR and the other an EE. They are not yet laying eggs. That is what I want to ask about, i'm not sure what to expect. I have heard about the "egg song" and Squating. Can anyone give me any more information. When should I put nesting boxes in with them?

here are the girls

THis is Trixie (my 4yr old son was insistant on that name)

THis is Noodle

 

[christineavatar]

They look just about mature enough. In my experience they will drop the first egg anywhere. Sometimes in the nest the first time, other times they will just drop it out as if they didn't know what was happening until it was over. After the first egg she will probably settle down and go to the nest box when the urge takes her.

 

[LiLRedCV]

Many hens will shout it to the world when they've laid an egg, but not all of them do it... I, for one, enjoy hearing them do this!

If I could figure out how to post an image here, I could show you the squat thing.

 

[JodyJo]

the first egg can drop anywhere. I was watching my girls one night, and one stopped eating, out popped her first soft shelled egg, and she continued on...very odd! I found one soft shelled one under the roost the other morning...its like they don't understand yet what they need to do...after the soft ones, you will start to get small pullet eggs, then as they work out the mechanisms of it all, you may be getting a double yolker, then eventually normal eggs.

If I were you, I would get those nesting boxes ready...I had to put a curtain over the front of mine, BTW I have 12 laying hens, and they only use 2 of my 4 boxes, so if you only have 2 girls, you may only need one box (you can build 2 for fun though!)

Mine never really squatted, at least I never noticed it...they will go sit in the boxes when the time is getting closer, or hang around the coop more...very red combs and wattles also are a good clue they are reaching POL. I have a couple girls that will make all sorts of sounds when they have laid their eggs...I am getting around 8 a day now...but should be more any time, since I have found a soft shelled one, meaning someone else is coming to POL! Yeah!!

Its like Christmas every day now!

 

[Tiss]

I'd put a nesting box in with some golf balls. I'm not noticed all my birds doing the squat, but my new RIR's sure do! They squat down and freeze solid with their wings up to make a sort of platform for the roo. They've laid within a week of starting that behavior.

Your Red looks like she'll lay any time. It's been my experience that EE's lay a little later.