Found our first egg this morning!!!

[catlvr976]

Bad news is, I have no idea how long it's been out there, bc it was really cold this morning, and has been the past few days, so I'm sure it's ok. The other bad news, someone laid it in my yard under a small deck that we have. The egg was cold when I picked it up.

I went out and put a fake easter egg with some rocks in it into the nest box area. Is it too late and will they continue to just lay them anywhere? I wish I knew who it was, considering they are 29 weeks today.

They pretty much roam about my yard (1/3 acre).

In all, it's a pretty nice size lovely brown egg!!!! So proud of whoever it was!! FINALLY!!!!!

 

[CricketR4]

You can float it in a bowl of water to find out if it's still good. It should lay on it's side at the bottom of the bowl, if it tips up on the "pointy" end or floats to the top, it's no good. As for laying all over the yard, my chickens roam a 2.5 acre yard, plus some fields and woods outside the yard. Mostly they all lay in the coop in various places, but I did find a nest of 7 eggs in a cardboard box in our garbage area, and one of my girls lays in between the floor boards in the "tack room" where we store feed and hay. Another girl layed her eggs under a pile of scrap wood in our pole barn, but after I took her eggs, she's back to laying in the coop. I think of it as an easter egg hunt every day!

 

[catlvr976]

Thanks so much!! It was so exciting when I found it!

My kids are going to flip when they get home from school, we've been on egg watch for weeks now!

 

[CricketR4]

We've been getting eggs for a while now, and we all still get excited when we get them out of the coop (or wherever they happen to lay them)! We also have some ducks that just started laying, and that's been interesting, since sometimes they lay their eggs anywhere and everywhere. One day about two weeks ago, I found a duck egg in the middle of a puddle, still warm from being layed. Silly birds.

 

[stefan333]

I've been going out to the coop this past week having conversations with my RIR and BR's asking them where my eggs are. They just tilt their heads at me as if to say, "Be patient momma, you'll get your eggs when I'm good and ready." That's so exciting, though. I can't wait.

 

[catlvr976]

I know, I go out in the morning, open their coop, sing good morning ladies!!! and ask if they left any eggs. I started to call them freeloaders, maybe they got the hint?? LOL

 

[catlvr976]

Got egg #2 a little bit ago....slightly smaller, and a pretty pinkish brown color!

 

[stefan333]

YAY!

 

[catlvr976]

I just came in, egg #3 laid about 15 mins ago from my barred rock. It was so cool, I was in there and watched as she laid it! She sat in the nest box and was putting shavings on her back and kind of rearranging them around herself. She didn't make any noise, but the egg was an odd, long oval shaped very light brown color!

All of a sudden they start laying, like all on the same day!

This is soooo cool for a total newbie like me!

 

[stefan333]

I wonder if it's the same concept as when they're hatching. They chirp to encourage the others to hatch. Maybe they encourage each other to lay eggs. That is so neat!