First egg! And some Qs

[Chickens? WOW]

I just got my first 2 eggs from my black sexlinks. I got them around easter. (The chickens not the eggs.) My problem is they don't lay in the box. I have fake eggs in the boxes, how else do I get them to lay in there? Also how long do they lay tiny eggs? Are they egg bound often? Having an egg bound hen is my worst fear. I don't know how to help them. If the egg is poopy and you clean it off really well with warm water is it safe?
If you could help with any of the questions, thanks!!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Make sure the water used to wash eggs is warmer than the egg itself. If you use cold water, it will drive germs in. Oh, I've used poopy eggs before even without washing them....uh my standards are higher now

But I didn't have anything bad happen. And for this round of birds that I have now I bought an egg washing kit that I plan to use when they start laying. But you don't need all that. I won't wash eggs unless they look poopy.

I have read on this message board before that some people keep their birds in the coop in the mornings for a few days so that they will lay in the boxes. Then once they learn this, let them out early as usual. But you have to keep in mind temps in the coop of course. Maybe someone else will chime in on that.

I don't know the other stuff you are asking about. Sorry!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

First - congrats on your first eggs. How exciting.

Second - They'll start to lay in the boxes soon, when they're ready. To entice them make sure the box is nice and private. Most of my laying hens prefer the cardboard box I made that's really private - it looks like the one below except a) it has no cat in it and b) the handkerchief goes all the way across the box, leaving about an inch free space for them to look in/out of. Sorry I don't have a picture of it. They stopped laying under the feeder when they found this new nesting box.

Third - I'm a newbie at this too but my girls laid small eggs for about 2 weeks and now they're getting bigger. They're about a medium/large size grocery store egg now.

Make sure you're offering free choice calcium - oyster shell or reused egg shells.