First Egg Countdown

[mckenzy]

Was feeling so disappointed. Chickens totally old enough to lay. No signs of eggs. Next boxes lay untouched. I did my daily egg hunt and decided to look a little further in the side of the yard and to my surprise!!! They made their own nest! With 4 little blue eggs.

(Question) are they still good to eat if they've been out there a few days?

 

[mckenzy]

First eggs!

 

[Twinklin]

Was feeling so disappointed. Chickens totally old enough to lay. No signs of eggs. Next boxes lay untouched. I did my daily egg hunt and decided to look a little further in the side of the yard and to my surprise!!! They made their own nest! With 4 little blue eggs.

(Question) are they still good to eat if they've been out there a few days?

Grats! I did another search of the bushes today and still haven't found a hiding spot at our house. I think the eggs would be fine if only a few days old but you can see if they sink or float in water. Fresh eggs will sink, the further it stands on end the older it is and if it floats it's bad.

 

[fallenangel79]

First eggs!

nice eggs

 

[Happy Chooks]

Was feeling so disappointed. Chickens totally old enough to lay. No signs of eggs. Next boxes lay untouched. I did my daily egg hunt and decided to look a little further in the side of the yard and to my surprise!!! They made their own nest! With 4 little blue eggs.

(Question) are they still good to eat if they've been out there a few days?

Congrats!

As long as it's not super hot, they will be fine to eat. Unwashed eggs can sit out for at least a week on the counter.

 

[MandalaMaMa]

What a nice find. Congratulations.

 

[belljmr]

Sounds like she prolapsed.  You can fix it if you catch it right away.  I've never had a hen prolapse, but I know it involves Preparation H and pushing it back in.  I'm sorry you lost her.

Soft shelled eggs are normal with new layers.  They'll get it worked out, just be patient.  Could they be laying them from the roost at night?  New layers get surprised by the eggs coming, and drop them wherever they happen to be.  I've had early eggs from under the feeder, under the waterer, in the dust bathing area, right outside the coop, etc.  They will find their way to the boxes in time - once they learn the feeling that means an egg is coming.

For those of you going through your first molt - soft shelled eggs when they start back up from molt is also common.

Thanks for the advice again. Im a worrisome person by nature and havr become quite attached to my girls. This is my first attempt at raising from chicks since my elementary days. Here are a few pics of my ladies.

this is in response to your comments on the soft eggs.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Pretty girls!

 

[Twinklin]

Onyxia, BSL almost 21 weeks. I think she'll be my first. She has the largest most red comb and has been squatting over 2 weeks now. Someone has also showed interest in the nest boxes as there has been bedding kicked out, I don't know if it's her. I've been hoping since her first squat but still nothing.

Today the nest box was all stirred up, one of the ping pong balls I had in it was pushed way into the corner and buried. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[kpsocalchicks89]

This is Spock our EE (I think) we don't know what she is but when do EE's start laying?