First Egg Countdown!!

[chickenlickin8]

CONGRATS on your first egg. It is so exciting to find that little treasure. I got my first egg from my hatchlings from Feb. I've had chickens for years and I still get just as excited as the first flock I had.

 

[smccuen]

thanks, Chickenlicken8

 

[Alaskan]

Oh what fun!

What breeds do you have?

 

[smccuen]

All mine are "production reds" - a RIR mix, I suppose. The three bantam chicks we got at the same time all showed themselves to be Roosters and found new homes.

 

[Alaskan]

Production Reds are nice though, they lay a lovely shade of brown, and oh so very many of them. Big too, and I love big ones.

I have two Rhode Island Reds, and I love their warm brown feathers. We named ours Red and Roady. Red is a very dark red, almost dark enough to be a heritage Rhode Island Red. Roady isn't as dark red, and also has a bit of black in her wings and tail, like the dirt on a road.

What can I say...I love my chickens.

But mine are only about three months...so no eggs yet.

 

[smccuen]

It was interesting to watch the recent subtle changes in their behavior. They have all been much more talkative.....sort of a steady burbling sound when I approach. I'd expected a more drastic change in the color of their combs and wattles but all I saw was a very slight increase in the redness of them. And I didn't see a "submissive" squat until today and that was much more obvious than I'd expected it would be. I thought the first egg might be thin-shelled or small but it isn't. I've been giving them a little layer mix mixed in with their mealworms and greens as a treat for the last few weeks. Maybe that made a difference. Guess we'll see when the other two start to lay. I'm hoping they'll decide to use the nest boxes for laying, though - this one was laid right inside the door to the coop. So I put a few golf balls in the nest boxes tonight. I'm afraid I may have to make a new door for the nest boxes, though - since the one I made is already warping from all this rain and won't close tightly, so the nesting material is getting damp.

 

[Alaskan]

I have some bantams along with my full sized pullets, and at least one of the bantam roosters is crowing.

On one hand, I keep thinking that if the rooster is crowing, and has a flaming red comb, then shouldn't the pullets be laying? But, on the other hand, I remember that they are still very young, and four months or even older is when they usually start to lay. And as I said earlier, mine are at just three months.

 

[BarredRockGirls]

Ok so since I got my first egg on July 2nd I now have 6 total . One day there was no eggs .. The other days there was at least one egg or one day there was two ...
I obviously have one laying .. Maybe two. I have 14 BRs .. How long does it take them to get reg laying? And they are all the same age so the others can't be far behind right?

 

[smccuen]

My bantams starting showing brighter combs and then crowing at 8 to 11 weeks - first one, then the next, then the third. And the chest bumping. That was the big thing. Each one being the toughest - until he was given a new home - and then the next would be the toughest and crowing until he found a new home. Finally there was only the last bantam left and though his comb hadn't darkened he was all about chest-bumping and I wasn't convinced he was a rooster until the morning he cut loose with a few "err, err, err, err, ERRs". He found a new home a few days later. I hated to see all of them go. They added a certain excitement to things. "Chicken TV" isn't nearly as much fun to watch when there are no roosters about. The stare downs and chest bumping is fun to watch. But where I live I can't risk ticking folks off with the crowing. Some day, though, when I've retired to the countryside I will definitely have roosters.

 

[chickenfever417]

I love this idea of "egg countdown" This is my Black Sex Link (hubby calls her Darth) around 18 weeks....very red faced YAY!!!!