First Egg Countdown

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my Rhode Island reds are approx 7 months old, and feel they were not laying. I was talking to some lady at feed store, and she said they should definitely be laying by now.

Mine are free range, and she immediately got concerned they were laying some where in the fenced in 3 acres. I put 5 out of the 7 reds i have, and pinned them up together in a decent size pin 2 days ago. Didn't get anything yesterday, possibly because they were stressed about being locked up. Went out this morning, and I have 1 in the middle of the pin. I put some milk crates with some hay in it figuring they would go for the nest. The only thing I am confused about is why only 1 egg, and it was poked at, I could tell. Any suggestions?
 
givhansdude said:
my Rhode Island reds are approx 7 months old, and feel they were not laying. I was talking to some lady at feed store, and she said they should definitely be laying by now.

Mine are free range, and she immediately got concerned they were laying some where in the fenced in 3 acres. I put 5 out of the 7 reds i have, and pinned them up together in a decent size pin 2 days ago. Didn't get anything yesterday, possibly because they were stressed about being locked up. Went out this morning, and I have 1 in the middle of the pin. I put some milk crates with some hay in it figuring they would go for the nest. The only thing I am confused about is why only 1 egg, and it was poked at, I could tell. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

It's time for an easter egg hunt! Eggs are good for a couple of weeks, so if you find them you can float test them. If they float they are bad. If they sink completely they are fresh. If one end goes up, those are older but usually good. Crack those into a separate bowl to be sure before using.

Ron
 
givhansdude said:
my Rhode Island reds are approx 7 months old, and feel they were not laying. I was talking to some lady at feed store, and she said they should definitely be laying by now.

Mine are free range, and she immediately got concerned they were laying some where in the fenced in 3 acres. I put 5 out of the 7 reds i have, and pinned them up together in a decent size pin 2 days ago. Didn't get anything yesterday, possibly because they were stressed about being locked up. Went out this morning, and I have 1 in the middle of the pin. I put some milk crates with some hay in it figuring they would go for the nest. The only thing I am confused about is why only 1 egg, and it was poked at, I could tell. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

welcome-byc.gif


I forgot to say Welcome!

They are checking the egg to make sure the shell is hard enough. It's normal. Do you have fake eggs or golf balls in the nest box? One or two in each nest box will discourage them for pecking too hard.

By the way, this is not egg eating and is normal behavior. If the shell is weak and the egg breaks they will eat the egg. This is disappointing, but still not egg eating that people worry about. If the shells are week, give them free choice calcium. If they are free ranging, they may not be getting enough calcium from their layer feed.

Congratulations and yes, locking them in can cause them to stop laying. They are RIRs though so they will not be stopped for long
thumbsup.gif
.

Ron
 
Well okay...I saw my Rooster (Sal) mount Pebbles today. She is the one I keep expecting to lay the first egg as she has the biggest comb and waddles and they are pinker than any of the others. She is a Red Star (Prod. Red), so what's up? I have looked all over the yard and can't find any eggs. I thought maybe she was laying while out free ranging, but nope. What gives? Isn't the fact that she let Sal mount her a sign that she's ready to start laying? I have a pic of her that I took today, but it takes a while for the pic to upload to my email from my phone, so I'll post it for everyone as soon as it downloads.

Thank you everybody for being such a fantastic, supportive group on this thread. So much fun!
 
HappyHenMama said:


Can you tell which one is Pebbles? Obviously the one sitting in the back there. Anyhow, like a said Sal mounted her today and she let him...so doesn't that mean eggs soon???
FYI: We also have in this pic (clockwise) Lucy, Betty, Lil Mama and the Frizzel in the back is Ethel.
Click to expand...
If she is mature enough for mating, then eggs will come real soon.
 
Welcome GivehansDude! I agree that they are just checking out the weird round object that randomly appeared in their pen. They don't have hands, so their only option is to peck. If you put fake 'eggs' in their boxes (like pingpong balls, golf balls, light colored round rocks, etc) they should soon lose interest in round objects.

Dp9rr, that is a hilarious picture! OMG that looks like she's tipping her waiter. "Thanks, keept the change". Heehee, hens are so entertaining

And yes HappyHenMamma, your girl is getting close if she's not running away from your roo like he's an axe murderer. Just be careful to not let him overbreed her. When hens are new to squatting, they can get kinda lost in it, and not get up right away like older hens. A savvy roo could take a lot of advantage of that. It really depends on the hen though.
 
And yes HappyHenMamma, your girl is getting close if she's not running away from your roo like he's an axe murderer. Just be careful to not let him overbreed her. When hens are new to squatting, they can get kinda lost in it, and not get up right away like older hens. A savvy roo could take a lot of advantage of that. It really depends on the hen though.

Thanks Pele...
lau.gif
I'll keep an eye on him.
 

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