Got my first egg and now the 2nd pullet has started!!!

[NickyPick]

So, on Friday, I was in the barn getting the horses fed and went through the stall to shut the coop door (I keep it open during the day so the chickens can hang out in the stall where it's cooler) and noticed a light blob under the feed bucket. Well, that light blob turned out to be a tiny pale green egg!

Going from the increasing red combs on the Wyandottes and Orpingtons, I really expected a brown egg to show up first. There's 4 EE pullets and I'm pretty sure I know which one laid this cutie:

So, today, instead of going up to my land to mow, I hang around the house and check the coop several times. I have nesting boxes in the coop, complete with golf balls, so I go in around 10am to look there. Four pullets: Topaz (EE), Jade (EE), Ruby (GLW) and Onyx (SLW) come running in, followed by Mr. Feathers. I sit down on the lowest roost to see what they're goigng to do. Topaz starts rooting around in the nest box with Jade and Ruby watching her closely. Onyx gets on my lap and starts her burbling - she LOVES to be petted.

Topaz goes in and out of the nest box, roots around behind me and generally acts restless. Mr. Feathers comes over and squats down in front of the nest box and starts rooting around - like he's makeing a nest - and makes this weird chirruping sound. It's almost like he's trying to show Topaz how to nest, which is silly since he's the same age as her and a he, so what does he know about egg laying?? Anyway, after a few more minutes, they all run into the stall where the rest of the group are hanging out in front of the fan. So, I go with them and sit on the stoop of the coop. There's about 8 inches between me and the wall and suddenly Topaz comes flying back over and starts digging a hole almost underneath my legs and the wall. Jade and Ruby come with her and as she's restlessly turning around in her hole, they both stand over her. Ruby actually went to sleep, while Jade was watching intently. I thought for sure that Topaz was getting ready to lay an egg. After about 15 minutes of this, Topaz suddenly gets up, walks back over to the rest of the group and joins them in fan bathing. Very weird. I kept checking throughout the day, but still no egg.

So, my question: I thought once a pullet started laying eggs, it was an almost daily thing? How much of a gap between the first egg and the second is usual?


Rae

 

[BellevueOmlet]

It really depends on a wide variety of factors like the food and nutrients they get, their breed and the amount of sleep they get. Some chickens lay 4-5 eggs/week and some are more like one or two per week.

 

[froggiesheins]

Yup, when they first start laying it is a hit n' miss thing for a while and then they will get ito the routine all by themselves. It amazes me how much info is hard wired in those tiny brains of theirs. Enjoy the daily quest of finding new eggs!

pretty soon you will have more eggs than you know what to do with.....

 

[ThinkingChickens]

I can only speak from my limited experience. My barred rock laid one, then another two days later, then another two days later and then every day since. My Jersey Giant laid one, then nothing today. So, I think things take a little bit to get going steady.

 

[NickyPick]

Yay! Second egg and it was Topaz!

She laid it in the horse stall again, though. Now I've got to figure out how to get her to use the nest boxes in the coop. Any suggestions? I guess the most obvious is to shut the door to the stall, but I had to block them from the coolest place to hang out during the day. We're looking a the next 10 days over 100 degrees!

This is Topaz at 15 weeks. She's 18+ now:

 

[froggiesheins]

Quote:
WAY TO GO TOPAZ!

My 2 cents: Put the nest box in the stall where she laid the egg so that the box becomes the "magic box" [well to her] and after she uses it for a while you can try moving it in the coop. If you can catch her IN the box even better, then you can move the whole deal.

My horse has a roo that lives in her stall with her and they are buddies of sorts now. She is very careful moving around him if he is on the ground.

Hope that helps......

 

[Chulke]

Your topaz looks exactly like one of my girls that I call chipmunk...shes about 14 weeks old.

 

[NickyPick]

Today, with the joys of being off work, I went to sit with the chickens around 11. Topaz was running around digging holes in the stall and making this sound like a lawnmower that wouldn't start: rrrr rrrr rrrr rrrrr rrrr. Jade (EE) was following her around acting very interested. I ended up leaving and coming back around 12:30 and Topaz was in the back corner in a hole with Jade almost on top of her. She stood up a bit and I saw the egg, so I went in to get it. I learned real quick not to let the other hens see the egg because they all wanted to peck it. Topaz just stood with her head down, whining a bit, so I wasn't sure if this was her egg (smaller than her first) or if it was Jade's and she still had to lay, so I left her to it.
Around 2, I went out and no egg in the hole in the stall, but Topaz was walking out of the middle nest box in the coop and when I peeked, Jade was in there laying down. Sure enough, Jade laid her first egg! Thank goodness one of them likes the nest boxes!

Are these typical of first eggs or typical of Easter Egger eggs? I mean, will they get larger?

 

[froggiesheins]

tHE GIRLS WILL GET THE HANG of it eventually.........just hang in there nickypick--so far so good.

 

[Noymira]

They will learn where to lay, do you have golf balls or something in the nest box to show them? My BCM pullets started just laying in the middle of their pen. I added a nest box and golf ball and 70% of the rest have ended up in there. They do get bigger too, just give it time.

Congrats! Those first eggs are exciting!