FIRST EGG! But it wasn't in the nest....

[aart]

Got egg laying location issues all solved thanks to everyone's advice. Now my first egg was 9/9 then around 9/14-15 I began getting 2 eggs a day. It is now 10/15 and I still only get 2 eggs a day. Wondering why it is taking so long for the other 8 to start laying. All are the same age (at least all 10 were purchased the same day and it was the same day their shipment came into bomgaars and they were all the same size)

They are all individuals...even if same breed from exact same parentage....and onset of lay in fall can be glitchy due to shortening days.

Do you free range?

You can check each bird to see who is laying and who is not by examining vents and pelvic bones:
Vent:
Dry, tight, and smaller - usually not laying.
Moist, wide, and larger - usually laying

Pelvic Points 2 bony points(pelvic bones) on either side of vent:
Less than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means not laying.
More than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means laying.


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 (or longer) 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.

 

[ourlilfarm2015]

No free range here. Would love to have them roam our 8 acres but my dogs would make quick snacks of them. They are in a very old coop that we patched up and it has a fenced in yard for them on the one side. I'll have to try and catch them to check them over they're not very tame.

 

[ourlilfarm2015]

The bigger part of the coop on the right is completely enclosed and where their roost and nesting boxes are. The shorter longer side is an open screen on the south side and concrete floor where their food and water is. Its a total of 632 Sq feet if I remember the measurements correctly.

 

[aart]

Easiest time to examine them is off the roost well after dark.
I wear a headlight to control where the light goes and still use both hands.....
......and chair to sit in to put bird in lap while I check it out.

 

[ourlilfarm2015]

(removing the buckets since this has been taken they didn't like them - was a pinterest idea must only work on smaller breeds)

going to have to move their yard in the spring they killed all the grass in that spot


It's a work in progress but they seem content.

 

[zoelov]

I have 8 hens now, since moving to town and having to get rid of all my others several years ago. I also got all my hens at the same time in the same store and they all started laying at different times and I still have 2 that aren't laying regularly so don't panic. They will start laying when they are ready and not before. No specific timetable where hens are concerned. Are they all the same breed? I have 2 Salmon Favorolles, 3 black Austrolorps and 3 Ameracaunas. The Ameracaunas laid first, then the Salmons and now the black Austrolorps are just starting. One has been laying for a while, but the other two are just beginning. I usually get 5 eggs per day, but sometimes only 3 and occasionally I will get 8, Jackpot!!! They were purchased in mid April. Good luck, be patient.

 

[zoelov]

No matter where you move their yard, they will kill anything green foraging. Don't worry if they do, it is a chickens nature to eat everything or anything green, pretty much. Moving their yard is a great idea if you can leave the area to regrow and then alternate areas so they have greenery. I can't do that, so my little yard for my hens is just dirt.