First Egg!

[jasongind]

Yesterday we got the first egg from one of our girls. We believe the Black Austrolorp laid it. The last few days she has been real protective of the coop
The egg is really small, but nice shape and the shell is great. Does anyone know if the Austrolorp eggs are really small or will they get bigger as she matures in her laying? It obviously the brown one. It's next to a store bought for comparison.

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[BayBay Peepers]

I believe over time the eggs will get a bit larger. My girls started with smaller eggs and now that they're over a year the size is almost double.

 

[jasongind]

That's what I figured.

Also she laid it on the roof of the nesting box instead of in it. They do roost on top of the coop at night since it's been hot. So I'll use this egg to put in the roosting box and make sure they are closed up in the coop at night so they can see the egg in the box. Maybe put two and two together.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Great idea I would bet they'll catch on pretty quick.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

First eggs are generally pretty small - there are always exceptions to the rules where a bird will start out laying large eggs from the start, but that is definitely an exception, not the rule. The eggs progress in size over the first couple of weeks for most new layers.
That being said, do not use a real egg as your "bait" for the nesting boxes - golf balls, wooden eggs, etc are a good bait. The problem with using a real egg is that the egg can be broken and that can lead to your birds discovering the treat that is inside eggs and lead to egg eating starting in your flock. Even w/out egg eating as an issue, the egg can become broken which makes a mess in your box.

 

[jasongind]

Ah ok. I'll find another bait method.

 

[jasongind]

This morning I cracked the first egg open in a bowl, then cracked a store bought into the same bowl. I was surprised at how much of a deeper darker yellow the fresh eggs was compared to the bright pale yellow of the store bought. I can only assume it has to do with the clean organic egg layer feed and no antibiotics/ steroids mine get.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

This morning I cracked the first egg open in a bowl, then cracked a store bought into the same bowl. I was surprised at how much of a deeper darker yellow the fresh eggs was compared to the bright pale yellow of the store bought. I can only assume it has to do with the clean organic egg layer feed and no antibiotics/ steroids mine get.

It really is amazing how much of a difference there is you never believe it until you see it.

 

[jasongind]

Two days ago our hen, Olive, didn't lay at all. So I checked yesterday morning and there was a nice extra large egg waiting for me. I compared it to the store bought large and it was bigger. I can't wait for the other 4 to start laying, then it's good buy to those store boughts.

 

[tantricdragon13]

Congrats on your first egg!