First Egg Countdown

[Pele]

Her egg color had better be worth the wait.

Last year when the welsummer took 11 months to lay, she laid for a couple months, then went broody. I'm starting to wonder if this barnevelder will do the same.

Aw

I really wish I had a broody right now. Remember those Faverolles I got last year? Yeah those luxuriously fluffy butts apparently are too good for laying OR brooding. What do they think, we just keep them around cuz they're pretty!? (yes we do)

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yeah, we do keep them for their beauty. Strange, I've always heard faverolles are really broody. I've had 8 broodies this year. Had a 9th, but on her 2nd night a bunch of young cockerels crammed in the box with her, and she's been roosting since. I wouldn't mind a broody after this wellie pullet starts laying - I want to hatch them!

 

[off-grid hen]

My BCM laid 5 eggs, then went Broody for 3 days. She didn't stick to it, but it was just enough to make her not lay for a month. Se laid 3 eggs, then stopped when the days got shorter. HONESTLY! What makes first-year pullets stop laying in their 7th month? Is that normal or am I doing something wrong? They all went through a mini molt. They dropped a few tail feathers, and I can see little sparse pins on their otherwise fluffy heads.

The first years I have laying are of course, the 2 red stars and 1 EE. My Barnevelder is still laying solid every other day. Two of my June 4th girls are laying. GLW roo had a blue egg gene somewhere, I have two from him that lay green eggs. The PR cross (Rockindotte!) lays an olive egg with purple speckles. . The other homemade sex link was being mated by the rooster today, so I hope she lays soon. They should get me through the winter, if they don't stop laying. Today I got six eggs! Better than the 2-4 I have been getting.

One of my leghorns has finally started getting some color back in her face, when should I expect an egg?

 

[Happy Chooks]

Not a first egg, but I got my first egg POST molt!

(thanks to my Barred rock) Back on the up swing for eggs!


I've had some pullets go through mini molts too. It's usually ones that hatched Jan-Mar.

 

[off-grid hen]

Yay!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Here's the 9 month old slacker:


And a 28 week old Lavender Ameraucana that is still nowhere near laying:



And for those of you wondering "how red do they get when they are ready to lay" - here is a great picture. She's not laying yet, but she's super close.

 

[chicken pickin]

Here's the 9 month old slacker:


OOOHHHH she is very pretty! What color eggs do they lay? Is it a light brown?

 

[off-grid hen]

Re: The Slacker- wow, her comb is still really little. Wait, is that normal for the breed? Maybe my girls comb and wattles are too big for the breed... I have only one Barnie and she is hatchery stock, so I know very little about them.

 

[Happy Chooks]

They are supposed to be a dark egg layer, but egg color has suffered here in the States. Their eggs are lighter than a welsummer. Here is a barnevelder egg from last year:



2 dark eggs in this picture are my welsummer eggs. The 3 to the right are barnevelder eggs. (white are Icelandic eggs and green are Isbar eggs from a friend)



Off grid - the hens don't have much of a comb compared to other breeds. Even the rooster's combs are smaller than most other breeds.

 

[gwenirish11]

Hello all,
I had to get on here and ask a few questions. I think I am just reading too much and being paranoid. So here we go...about three weeks ago my Wyandotte started squatting her comb has been super red for some time now. The next week the other 4 ladies started squatting. SO now I have 5 squatting hens and now an egg in sight. I also wanted to add a week ago I was walking out to the coop and heard my Wyandotte singing the egg song..so I ran to the coop eagerly opened it up and no egg....

I have been paranoid ever since....I started to get worried that they are eating the eggs but have found no shells. I put a duck egg in there and my black star pecked at it but it remained intact all day...so am I just freaking myself out?

Here is a little more back round too I started feeding layer feed last week but offered oyster shell for the past two before that. The ages of my laying age hens are 5-7 months. It is winter here and obviously the days are shorter but would their combs still be red, squatting, and doing the egg song if they weren't ready to lay? I don't mean to sound stupid....lol!!!