First eggs and very squaky hen

[ManWithChicks]

So at this point I had expected to get my first eggs who knows when and I was not checking the hen house every day.
TOday one hen was acting weird, she is usualy one of the ones mobbing me for treats and follows me around, but today she stayed away from the group during treat time and was just making a long squack call. then she ran in hen house and sat in the corner.

I went inside the house to clean up and wen t back outside and she wasnt in the hen house anymore, so I opened it and found 3 eggs! I had no idea any were laying, so I took them and ran ijnto house leaving the hen house open.

When I came back outsied all the chickens were in the hen house except for the one who had been sitting on eggs. SHe was running back and forth with neck stretched sqawkin at me, like she was straight really upset. I fed her some greens, but dont know if I am in the clear now. Is she mad at me forever now? Is she broody alrerady? is this just normal behavior of chickens? Im going to be checking everyday from now on, just hope I didnt get off on a bad foot.

 

[ChickNanny13]

What breed is she?
How old is she?
Do you have any Roos?

Ha ha, not laughing at you but at the thought of her squawking at you. Some will even "peck/bite/chase" when removing eggs from under them. Yes, it does sound like she's probably getting broody on you and unless you have a Roo and want chicks, check for eggs at least 2 - 4x a day. If you don't have a Roo & she insists on sitting on eggs, you'll need to break her of this ... Broody Jail is the best way, wire cage (minus the tray, 1x2 welded wire added on the bottom) suspended so there's air flow with food/water for a few days (3days more or less).

Unless you want to stick fertile eggs under her once she sets for sure. Broody's will not leave the nest, maybe once a day get off to eat "some" & poop but they tend to loose weight/health.

My first broody I thought "cute" until I picked her up and felt her keel bone. No Roos here, tired different methods suggested but the BJ is the best. Certain breeds are more prone to becoming broody.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do you have fake eggs in your nest box? Some hens do get upset at seeing that there's something "wrong" with the box (there were eggs there, now they're gone!) so leaving fake eggs all the time can help alleviate that.

 

[sourland]

If she has just started laying, it is very unlikely that she is broody. @rosemarythyme has a good suggestion about providing a nest egg.

 

[aart]

Do you have fake eggs in your nest box? Some hens do get upset at seeing that there's something "wrong" with the box (there were eggs there, now they're gone!) so leaving fake eggs all the time can help alleviate that.

If she has just started laying, it is very unlikely that she is broody. @rosemarythyme has a good suggestion about providing a nest egg.

Ditto Dos^^^

Newly laying pullets can be very noisy.
I had a group of about 10 one year that were so loud I had to close the house windows so I could hear on the phone.

 

[ManWithChicks]

What breed is she?
How old is she?
Do you have any Roos?

Ha ha, not laughing at you but at the thought of her squawking at you. Some will even "peck/bite/chase" when removing eggs from under them. Yes, it does sound like she's probably getting broody on you and unless you have a Roo and want chicks, check for eggs at least 2 - 4x a day. If you don't have a Roo & she insists on sitting on eggs, you'll need to break her of this ... Broody Jail is the best way, wire cage (minus the tray, 1x2 welded wire added on the bottom) suspended so there's air flow with food/water for a few days (3days more or less).

Unless you want to stick fertile eggs under her once she sets for sure. Broody's will not leave the nest, maybe once a day get off to eat "some" & poop but they tend to loose weight/health.

My first broody I thought "cute" until I picked her up and felt her keel bone. No Roos here, tired different methods suggested but the BJ is the best. Certain breeds are more prone to becoming broody.

View attachment 1992250

"Cream" Legbars, they are about 5 1/2 months old. I do have a Roo, and she is the only hen Ive seen getting "serviced" so far.

Do you have fake eggs in your nest box? Some hens do get upset at seeing that there's something "wrong" with the box (there were eggs there, now they're gone!) so leaving fake eggs all the time can help alleviate that.

I actually have the nest boxes closed off, so she was just laying in the corner of hen house. She was out with the flock this morning, but was also more interested in the hen house than they usually are.

Ditto Dos^^^

Newly laying pullets can be very noisy.
I had a group of about 10 one year that were so loud I had to close the house windows so I could hear on the phone.

I have 5, so far its only the one, good to know that them becoming noisy isnt a weird or out of place thing.

Thanks everyone for helping this newbie out! Its been a fun journey so far, with lots of worry, but with support from this forum Ive managed to get this far.

Today I am going to try to find time to open the nesting boxes up. I really thought I was going to have to wait until the end of the cold weather for them to start! This is exciting for me.

For a bonus, here is a photo of the first 3 eggs Ive collected!

 

[Sequel]

Oh those are just fabulous eggs! Congratulations!!!!

 

[ChickNanny13]

Beautiful color

 

[CindyinSD]

Do you have fake eggs in your nest box? Some hens do get upset at seeing that there's something "wrong" with the box (there were eggs there, now they're gone!) so leaving fake eggs all the time can help alleviate that.

My girls aren’t broody at present, but this gave me a chuckle. I put fake eggs in the nesting area for my girls when I moved them to a new “coop.” They speet on these deceptive presumptuous egg pretenders. They do lay in their designated areas, but however many times I put them back, they manage to toss the fake eggs far and wide. They never bother the real ones. Go figure.

 

[Cryss]

5 1/2 months is about 21 weeks. Average age to lay for the first time is about 20 weeks. Yeah they squawk like mad singing the egg song. She’s not mad, she’s bragging! She, and maybe 1 or 2 others, have been laying eggs for you for maybe a day or two that you missed. Open those nests and start offering a constant supply of oyster shell immediately! Also give them back their egg shells after crushing them enough to be unrecognizable as eggs. You can dry them a bit in the oven. The oyster shell and egg shell is a source of calcium needed to produce a hard egg shell.
congratulations!