First Egg Countdown

[Pele]

Quote:
They do it to keep you on your toes. Quit lookin' and you'll find one.

Is that "a watched chicken never lays?"

Heehee, that's a scarily accurate description. Except for my favorite chicken Darla, that woman has no shame.

 

[Alethea]

Our barred rock pullets are eighteen weeks old. Flora has been red and had a wattle for over a week. Greta is just turning red and has a tiny wattle. She might have squatted a few days ago, but the scientific method (she hasn't done it again) says she didn't. Ruthie has a tiny wattle and has not changed color. Ruthie has always been an odd bird. Anyone have a guess as to when the first egg will come? I'm leaving the country for 3 1/2 weeks on Sept. 9. Will the first egg come before I leave? May the flock be with you.

 

[Happy Chooks]

My barnevelders are 24 weeks today, and still nothing. One of my wellies (same age) just started 2 days ago. The other girl hasn't started yet.

 

[bmasters]

I got my first egg today! I'm not sure which girl laid it. They are all approximately 17 1/2 weeks old today. I was building a new brooder box for four new chicks that should be delivered next week, then taking a break, I went to the coop to check the nest boxes again... And there it was, next to a fake egg that I placed in the nest boxes. The wife and I were very excited. We have 20 chickens, 1 RSL rooster,3 RSL pullets,5 production reds, 5 astralorps, 1 silver cuckoo marans, 1 barred plymouth rock, 1 deleware,2 EE, and 1 brown leghorn. My wife really likes the deleware so I ordered 2 more. She also noticed a neighbors Welsummer rooster and said she would love to have one, so I ordered a pair of Welsummers also. Hopefully it will be one male and one female. I had very good luck with the sexing of the first 20.

 

[TwoCrows]

An egg..an EGG!! Somebody laid an EGG!!! After 24 looooooonnnnnnggggg weeks, one of my 4 Australorp girls FINALLY laid an egg. I had checked the nest box around 9am before I had to run to town for a doctors appointment and some shopping. When I got back and got out of the car, I could hear the girls bak bak bak bakking about something. So I headed over to the coop and 2 of the 4 girls ran up the ramp and into the coop, so I was SURE something must be up. (they must have been proud of this egg and wanted to show me!) Sure enough, there it was.....a beautiful brown egg, laid RIGHT in the nest box next to the fake brown egg. I was a proud mommy!

And here it is.....

 

[Pele]

Grats to twocrowsranch and bmasters! Yay for eggs!

 

[CarolynF]

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Such a nice egg! And so exciting, too. Just think, you have 3 more to go....

Congratulations!

 

[CarolynF]

Now I have a new-egg-mommy question. Since my #2 (Pearl) began to lay little brown eggs about 2 weeks ago, I've found #1's egg outside the nest box 2 times. #1 is my easter egger and she's been laying for a few months. I thought it was very strange for her egg to be outside the nest box and rather coincidental that it happened after Pearl had just begun to lay. The first time I chalked it up to having something new happening in the coop. When it happened yesterday (approx. 1 week later) it was very early in the morning and I could see that it had been rolled around.

The nest box sits on the floor of the coop and has a lip that's only about 2" high. I use straw bedding, just in the nest box, the rest is sand so that's how I can see a "trail" where it's been rolled around.

Has anyone seen this type of behavior before? I'm wondering if the EE layed the egg outside the box, or if one of them pushed it out of the nest box and rolled it around???

 

[meowmmy65]

This is Martha. She is 16 weeks old, and has become very vocal. Today she started squatting every time I try to pet her! Let the countdown begin. . .

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Yes, they will move them around. I've even found them moved from one nesting box to another nesting box. (they have done this with the wooden egg, that's how I know it was moved)

My lip on the nesting boxes is about 4 inches. This keeps them from scratching the nesting material out and kicking the poopy shavings in the boxes.