First egg questions

[Kezs]

I wasn't expecting eggs for another 2 months, but apparently Leghorns start laying at 18 weeks rather than 6 months!!! I'm so excited!!! I have a few questions that I haven't had time to research! I have 3 Leghorns and 3 Dominiques.

First, I've gotten 3 eggs so far over 3 days. 1 was tiny, one was larger (with a double yolk, the kids LOVED that!), and now the 3rd one is tiny. Is it likely I have 2 chickens laying, or is varying sizes normal at first? Do they start laying daily, or should I expect it to be sporadic for a while?

Second, we hadn't finished the dividers in the nesting box yet. They laid one in the nesting box anyway, but the other 2 were in the roosting area. We're finishing it this weekend, but what do I need to do in the mean time to train them to use the nesting boxes?

Third, is it normal to lay eggs in the middle of the afternoon? I thought they always laid in the morning? How often should I be checking the coop for eggs? Will they be OK if they are left outside for a day? It's in the 90's right now in my area of Texas.

Finally, it looks like as long as I don't wash them, they are fine on the counter for up to 2 weeks. Is that correct? Or is the fridge better? If I want to mark them with a date, is there a safe way to mark the shell? I'm thinking a sharpie would mark it, but might bleed chemicals into the egg. How does everyone keep track when they start getting 6 eggs or more a day?

Thanks for these Newbie questions. I tried searching, but they are such general questions that it's hard to find the answers in the search bar.

Also just because I'm a proud chicken Mommy, here are the pictures for size! The lego man is for scale.

 

[Cheeki]

I wasn't expecting eggs for another 2 months, but apparently Leghorns start laying at 18 weeks rather than 6 months!!! I'm so excited!!! I have a few questions that I haven't had time to research! I have 3 Leghorns and 3 Dominiques.

First, I've gotten 3 eggs so far over 3 days. 1 was tiny, one was larger (with a double yolk, the kids LOVED that!), and now the 3rd one is tiny. Is it likely I have 2 chickens laying, or is varying sizes normal at first? Do they start laying daily, or should I expect it to be sporadic for a while?

Second, we hadn't finished the dividers in the nesting box yet. They laid one in the nesting box anyway, but the other 2 were in the roosting area. We're finishing it this weekend, but what do I need to do in the mean time to train them to use the nesting boxes?

Third, is it normal to lay eggs in the middle of the afternoon? I thought they always laid in the morning? How often should I be checking the coop for eggs? Will they be OK if they are left outside for a day? It's in the 90's right now in my area of Texas.

Finally, it looks like as long as I don't wash them, they are fine on the counter for up to 2 weeks. Is that correct? Or is the fridge better? If I want to mark them with a date, is there a safe way to mark the shell? I'm thinking a sharpie would mark it, but might bleed chemicals into the egg. How does everyone keep track when they start getting 6 eggs or more a day?

Thanks for these Newbie questions. I tried searching, but they are such general questions that it's hard to find the answers in the search bar.

Also just because I'm a proud chicken Mommy, here are the pictures for size! The lego man is for scale.

It’s normal for new layers to lay various sized eggs for a little while. They’ll get things straight.
As for where they lay, I used golf balls in the nesting boxes to encourage them to lay there.

 

[Folly's place]

It's great to get those first eggs!
Used up fast, on the counter is okay. The saying is 'one day at room temperature is like one week in the refrigerator'! Mine are washed and refrigerated every day, and when I'm home I try to gather them two or three times every day, which helps prevent breakage, soiling, and possible egg eating.
If you wash them, use warm running water, and then refrigerate.
Develop a scheme that works for you to ID your eggs by freshness. Here we have an egg container in the left side of the frig, where eggs go from top to bottom daily, until there's enough to go into an egg carton. Then the egg cartons are stacked in the frig, left to right, as they are filled. So eggs in cartons upper left go first, and egg cartons lower right are newest.
You could date each egg, or date the egg carton when it's full, and then stack them in the frig the same way all the time.
Mary

 

[rosemarythyme]

1. New layers can be very sporadic. You may get some problem eggs (soft shell, wonky sizes, eggs laid overnight off a roost, etc) - all normal for new layers.

2. Fake eggs are a good way to encourage the birds to use a nest box by showing the location is safe for laying.

3. While eggs are often laid in the morning, they can be laid any time of day including at dusk.

4. I refrigerate my eggs as we don't eat them especially fast. I have a system to ensure we eat the older eggs first... I start from left to right, front to back, and fill up trays (I have ceramic egg holders) as I go. If I need extra space I use cartons that are numbered so it's obvious which is older even if they get moved around. If you want to mark the shells, a pencil will do just fine.

 

[KoopinItReal]

I wasn't expecting eggs for another 2 months, but apparently Leghorns start laying at 18 weeks rather than 6 months!!! I'm so excited!!! I have a few questions that I haven't had time to research! I have 3 Leghorns and 3 Dominiques.

First, I've gotten 3 eggs so far over 3 days. 1 was tiny, one was larger (with a double yolk, the kids LOVED that!), and now the 3rd one is tiny. Is it likely I have 2 chickens laying, or is varying sizes normal at first? Do they start laying daily, or should I expect it to be sporadic for a while?

Second, we hadn't finished the dividers in the nesting box yet. They laid one in the nesting box anyway, but the other 2 were in the roosting area. We're finishing it this weekend, but what do I need to do in the mean time to train them to use the nesting boxes?

Third, is it normal to lay eggs in the middle of the afternoon? I thought they always laid in the morning? How often should I be checking the coop for eggs? Will they be OK if they are left outside for a day? It's in the 90's right now in my area of Texas.

Finally, it looks like as long as I don't wash them, they are fine on the counter for up to 2 weeks. Is that correct? Or is the fridge better? If I want to mark them with a date, is there a safe way to mark the shell? I'm thinking a sharpie would mark it, but might bleed chemicals into the egg. How does everyone keep track when they start getting 6 eggs or more a day?

Thanks for these Newbie questions. I tried searching, but they are such general questions that it's hard to find the answers in the search bar.

Also just because I'm a proud chicken Mommy, here are the pictures for size! The lego man is for scale.

I placed golf balls in my nesting boxes early on bc my chicks were sleeping & pooping in the nesting boxes. This worked immediately to keep them out of the nesting boxes at night, & then when they started laying this week the golf balls gave them the idea that the nesting boxes are where they lay their eggs. Once I saw my first eggs I removed the golf balls as they now have the idea.
I seem to be having sporadic laying also. I believe 1 or 2 of my hens laid on Wed, then again on Thurs (4 eggs between those 2 days), then 1 laid 1 egg yesterday around11:45am. I have none so far today.
Congratulations, chicken mama! I know how excited you are bc I was beaming with pride myself!

 

[GC-Raptor]

to train them to use the nesting boxes?

I use ceramic eggs.

is it normal to lay eggs in the middle of the afternoon? I thought they always laid in the morning?

My first Flock (Golden Comets) almost always laid before 9 am the first year. They are a high production layer.
My second Flock (Barred Rocks) laid mostly by 1 pm, the first year.
Still waiting for my third Flock, 12 week old ISA Browns.

is the fridge better? If I want to mark them with a date, is there a safe way to mark the shell?

I wash, dry and refrigerate.
A pencil works fine on a dry egg.
I mark the egg carton with a date when full.
I stack the customer cartons on bottom shelf, right to left. Top right is oldest.
Middle shelf is cartons being filled, one for customers and not so perfect eggs for me, clearly marked mine on the carton.
Top shelf are my eggs. . GC