God awful noise!

Dmontgomery

Songster
Apr 1, 2014
839
630
222
Longville, La
Our flock was down to 3 by this winter, so we bought 35 new "pullets" in March and April. 2 of them turned out to be roosters, but that's fine. The RIR's are just now starting to lay. Yesterday I was watching them from the back porch when 4 of them went into the nesting boxes at the same time, which is unusual. They have been roaming in and out individually during the day. Anyway the EE alpha rooster followed them in and stood in front of the boxes and just watched.
After a while, one of the girls started her egg song. Then a 2nd joined in. It has been a long time since we've had 2 girls singing at the same time so I was very happy! All of a sudden I heard a terrible noise coming from the boxes and realized the rooster was singing too. I swear his "BAKKUK" at the end rattled the windows in the house! Apparently his "singing" agitated the 2 Guineas in the run and they started screaming. Then the Guinea on the other side of the house started screaming.
I'm glad we live on 40 acres or somebody might have called the police about a riot. My wife came running out of the house because she thought something awful had happened. She happily collected 4 big brown eggs and 1 green EE egg last evening. 3 Monday, 4 Tuesday, and 5 yesterday. He can keep singing if that helps ladies! We hope to have 3 dozen a day by the end of Sept.
 
Don't expect that many a day...hens will take a day off, go broody, or get hurt or molt or something and they won't all lay every day. I would look for two dozen, so you will be very happy when you get more than expected, not less.
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How many chickens do you have?
 
Yeah, we are hoping for 3 dozen a day, but expecting 2 dozen, and would be satisfied with 1 dozen. We aren't planning to sell them. We'd never "recoup" our coop money anyway. We hope to get a enough for family and our Sunday school classmates.
2 OEGB's who have been with us for over 2 years. Henrietta, actually a miniature bantam, came to us as an adult rescue from friends. She is so tiny she still fits in the palm of my hand. Lilly came as a 3 day old chick with her mother and 2 other sisters from a family member. The mother and sisters were killed off by predators before she reached maturity.
5 RIR ladies, 4 BR ladies, 4 EE ladies, and an EE rooster born around 3/27/16. Had a 5th BR but she died at 3 days.
19 Red Sex Link girls and their 1 rooster brother born about 4/12/16. None of them have layed yet, that I can tell.
2 giant black Cochin/OEGB hybrid girls and their brother hatched out here over 3 days the first week of June. Watching their parents mate was hilarious. Couldn't even see Lilly underneath him. The daddy got too aggressive trying to mate with all the new girls in July, before they were ready, so he had to be rehomed to a flock of adult black Cochin hens nearby. Lily layed the eggs but Henrietta did the broody duty and raised them. The hybrid boy started "crowing" yesterday. He sounds awful, poor little guy.
Henrietta went broody, AGAIN, at the beginning of this month with 2 RIR/EE mix eggs, but this is day 23 and still no pipping. We are getting a couple chicks for her Saturday. She just loves being a mom.
A juvenile Guinea hen appeared on our property 2 weeks ago. No idea where she came from. The nearest people with Guineas are about 2 miles away. She has adopted the bantam Cochins and stays next to them day and night. We named her Ginny.
My wife decided Ginny the Guinea might be lonesome for her own kind so she went Saturday and bought 2 more adult Guinea hens from a breeder in the next town over. Gerdy and Gertrude are still getting used to the chickens, but Ginny wants absolutely nothing to do with Guineas. Gerdy and her fight any time they get near each other. Ginny is very satisfied being with the bantam Cochins exclusively.
So 34 laying hens plus 3 female Guineas, 3 roosters, and 2 babies by this weekend.
 

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