First Egg Countdown

[AmericanMom]

Got 10 pullets that were hatched 9/26 that are coming up on 5 months...wattles are red, combs are growing and red...watched two of them squat for the rooster this morning... Egg countdown has begun

 

[tsiecz]

My flock hatched October 8 so Im getting closer also. I still figure it wont be until April though. Cant wait to start eating awesome eggs again.

 

[tsiecz]

When they first start laying its like priming a water pump. Spit one out ,gurggle,gurggle, gurggle and then the eggs will flow.

 

[AmericanMom]

When they first start laying its like priming a water pump. Spit one out ,gurggle,gurggle, gurggle and then the eggs will flow.

LOL, I know.. Out of my eight layers I get from 4-6 a day right now...got the 10 coming up and more to hatch a week from tomorrow, I am not going through another winter having to buy yukky store eggs! I figured around first half of march was when they would start...the squatting is a great sign tho, up until a week or so ago both roosters ignored the pullets

But just like hatch day, first egg day is much anticipated!

 

[mamaj323]

Well I did get two eggs today, but not how I'd expected. :/ I found these two plopped under the roost again. Looks to be laid in rapid succession? Both from my mystery layer. And both just a membrane with a splash of pink/beige. Sorry about the messy pic but they were hard to "collect". Is this normal? Still nothing more from FluffyButt. The girls were 22 weeks yesterday.

 

[LadyCluck77]

Yes that's very normal, though it's so frustrating being the owner and seeing a beautiful yolk like that in the shavings. Several of mine took a while to learn what it feels like when an egg is coming. They will all learn as they go along, and it helps when there's a really hard shell. They can feel one of those coming better than the thin shelled ones.
When that kept happening with my Marans, I gave her a scoop of oyster shell mixed with sunflower seeds. Maybe it made the shell thicker, maybe not, but it made me feel Better.

 

[mamaj323]

When that kept happening with my Marans, I gave her a scoop of oyster shell mixed with sunflower seeds. Maybe it made the shell thicker, maybe not, but it made me feel Better.

What a great idea! They have oyster shell available at all times, but I'll have to try a seed/shell "cocktail" with my few suspects. Hopefully it will help. It's sad to see these potential beauties go to waste. Well, not really waste as my dog is stoked!

 

[kpgoldstar]

First egg Thursday, none over the weekend. Second egg Monday, nothing yesterday. Third egg today! The same small size and color as Monday's egg. This has me pretty convinced that only one of my 4 girls is laying.

Pic is taken with the rest of the chickens on my new tea towels (flour sacks). 2nd pic is of the rooster towel. I guess the poor Roos don't warrant having breeds mentioned. The towels are marked Paper Sharks circa 2013 RONI I bet if you are so inclined you can find them!

 

[kpgoldstar]

Where is everyone?
New update for me, we got TWO, count 'em, TWO eggs today! Yippee, that means I have 2 girls laying. One was obviously from the first hen, and the new one was much smaller and a different color, so pretty! I am on my way to daily eggs!! So excited!

 

[chicksurreal]

Where is everyone?
New update for me, we got TWO, count 'em, TWO eggs today! Yippee, that means I have 2 girls laying. One was obviously from the first hen, and the new one was much smaller and a different color, so pretty! I am on my way to daily eggs!! So excited!

Congratulations!!!

I'm still patiently waiting for eggs to appear. My pullets are 25 weeks old and every day they get closer to laying, I can actually see them changing daily. It's fascinating. Our cockerel is even getting into the spirit of things, helping them find a place to lay. Lol!

I can only imagine the thrill of finding an egg!