first eggs!

[gonzroc]

I purchased my chicks on March 16 of this year. I wasn't expecting them to start laying until maybe August, but I found two eggs in the coop last night!! they were so small and cute. My question/problem is, I have not purchased a box yet for them to lay their eggs in. Is it too late to get one? If I go out and get one today after work do you think they will figure out what it is for? I am a first time mother to chickens so this egg laying business is new to me. thanks for your help!!

 

[7 Biddies]

What kind of chickens are they? I purchased 2 of mine on March 15 (barred rock and GLW), and 2 on March 22 (Australorp and BO), each at age 2 days. I think my Australorp will be the first to lay, but all are starting to develop combs. The Australorp has wattles. I got 2 EEs on March 29, but they look to be behind the others in development, as does my BLRW Splash Bantam who is a month older than all the others.

 

[yakibert]

Congrats on the eggs!! I purchased my Barred Rock chicks on March 9th and I anxiously await our first eggs.

But it seems you can add a nest anytime - if it meets their needs, I think they'll use it.

 

[gonzroc]

thanks for the help. to be honest I am not sure what kind of chickens they are.. I don't want to sound stupid, but when I bought them at Tractor Supply the sign said "sexed Pullets" Is a Pullet a bread or just a general term? When I got them they were cute yellow fluffy things, and now one is a dark orange and the other two are fairly plan looking, mostly a dirty blonde color..hahaha but they are a sweet as can be.

 

[yakibert]

A pullet is a female before they start laying. Once they are laying, they're referred to as a hen.

Probably they are "red sex links" , eg: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_link

Hard to say without a picture.

 

[karlamaria]

could be buff orphingtons to. and you can use about anything for a nest box, pan basket you name it lol. just add a few golf balls to show them where to lay, they will get the hang of it fast

 

[karlamaria]

could be buff orphingtons to. and you can use about anything for a nest box, pan basket you name it lol. just add a few golf balls to show them where to lay, they will get the hang of it fast

 

[Shane17]

I got 6 chicks Feb 23. no eggs yet. 19 weeks old . My co-worker purchased the same day and his are starting to lay. I'm getting frustrated!!! i swear they run out in the woods and lay when i turn them out. they get out there and raise all kinds racket!

 

[cooped up]

Congrats on the new eggs......I also found two, rather small, eggs in the coop today. The australorps are at 20 weeks, some have bright wattles while othesr aren't quite there yet.

On a side note, I switched their feed over to layer feed last week-- not sure if that helped get them going.

 

[MaMaBikerChic]

Congrats on first eggs! We have 10 "Red Sex Pullets" that we got in March from Tractor Supply too.We don't know for sure what they are except they don't like meal worms but just about tear down the door to get they're daily oatmeal. We have the feeder in a tote we stand on end to try and keep the rain out of it. We found the first egg in the corner of the tote. I hadn't got around to building the nesting box's yet so now I had to scramble and get something done. I had some old plastic totes so I cut one up to make a divider in another one. I cut the side down to 2-3 inches high, cut slots in the center for divider and know I had two nesting sites. I put it in the run and the next day we got another egg. This was two days ago, and now everytime we check for eggs they have been in the box's. I'd say they'll figure it out. I've never seen them sitting on the egg. What I need to find out now is how soon we can start eating the eggs. They look a little on the small side right now.