First Egg Countdown

[Gifa]

Not necessarily. Red sex links are created by red rooster to a silver hen - this ONLY works in the first generation. If you breed 2 red sex links together, they do not breed as sex links - you will not be able to tell sex by coloring. I have seen pictures of hen colored roosters in the 2nd generation.

Here's great information on sex links:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information/0_50

Heh... thanks... yeah, it looks like I accidentally left out a word... made me sound more sure than I was/am.

The part where I mentioned the sex linking...
"If they are the Red Star/Golden Comets, and they are all that lighter yellow color, then they would be cockerels because I they're sex linked."

Should have read:

"If they are the Red Star/Golden Comets, and they are all that lighter yellow color, then they would be cockerels because I think they're sex linked."

Silly iPad...

Still interested in seeing what they turn out to be.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I think my BO pullet layed her first egg a few days ago. She is acting sick now (lethargic, puffed up, hiding and closing her eyes, and "fake" eating/drinking) and I'm concerned she may be egg bound. The first egg was bigger than my other pullets first eggs but she is a bigger bird. I've tried catching her but that's proved impossible. I will try again when they are all back in the coop for the evening. Do they always die from this or can they pull through?

They will puff up sometimes when they are cold - it's how they keep warm. It would be pretty rare to have such a new layer be eggbound. Just keep an eye on her.

 

[Melabella]

They will puff up sometimes when they are cold - it's how they keep warm. It would be pretty rare to have such a new layer be egg bound. Just keep an eye on her.

Happy Chooks,

I have read recently it seems that BO's are susceptible to being egg bound. Have you heard this?

MB

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
I haven't heard that. My only Orps are blue english orps. (lost my first BO to her own stupidity - she got scared and was under the coop. She went to fly away, and hit the floor of the coop and broke her neck) But I haven't had any issue with any of my birds being eggbound - though I've only had my birds for 4 years.

Internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis I have heard is very common in hatchery stock as they age. (4 years and older)

 

[Pele]

Not necessarily. Red sex links are created by red rooster to a silver hen - this ONLY works in the first generation. If you breed 2 red sex links together, they do not breed as sex links - you will not be able to tell sex by coloring. I have seen pictures of hen colored roosters in the 2nd generation.

Here's great information on sex links:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information/0_50

Exactly this. Even if they were the product of sex links breeding, the color ID thing wouldn't work in the second crossing (it's a one time cross of two pure bred parents). So far, these babies are too uniformly colored and feathering the same, so they're not expressing the mixed genetic bag I'd expect out of second generation sex links.

They're also feathering out white, so I'm starting to suspect white rocks.

 

[OleMissChic]

They will puff up sometimes when they are cold - it's how they keep warm. It would be pretty rare to have such a new layer be eggbound. Just keep an eye on her.

I just checked on her and after all night there is only one large, healthy looking poop in her crate. Which means she isn't egg bound, right? She was clucking at me repeatedly (she is a very unfriendly bird compared to the others I rescued with her.) I would have thought she was just cold but with her hiding, eyes closed and not eating/drinking it seems there would be something wrong. I'm going to keep her in the crate for another day to see if she continues to do ok.

On another note, my barnevelder cross, two days in a row has run to the nest box urgently, makes a perfectly round nest and sits in it for over an hour. She got in the nest box yesterday while my Golden Buff was laying as well. The only other change I've seen with her is she's become nicer to me (she's the BO's cronie) and my young roo has been picking on her.
Do they "practice" laying eggs? What's all the urgency about? She's actually really cute about it but I don't want her hogging the nest boxes when the others need to lay.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yes, they do practice in the nests before laying.

As for your buff girl - a sign of egg bound is walking like a penguin. Where was she when she was puffed up? Was she in a nest box? Could she be thinking of going broody?

 

[OleMissChic]

She was on the roost, then on the floor of the coop, then when I let them out to free range for the day she hid behind a bush and "napped" most the day.

 

[OleMissChic]

Well, I guess my barnevelder cross decided practice time was over...just found her egg in the nest box next to another one!
Do Barnevelders normally have cream colored eggs? I had a couple people mention she looked like a barnevelder/GLW cross.

 

[Bourgeois Farms]

WOW! I am beyond excited to report WE HAVE EGGS!!! I just read this post earlier and I was sad becasue my hens should be laying now....well my hubby went home for lunch and checked the nesting boxes and POOF there they were! IN the nesting boxes! This would have never happend wothout ALL the helpful info I have gotten from this site! I am soooooo thankful for ALL of you!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry about the poop!! LOL