How can I tell if they have started laying yet?

[pemphredo]

Me too, glad to know someone else is chicken obsessed too hee hee, my husband thinks I'm certifiable, but it is sooo cool to look at the eggs and know which chicken lays them by shape and color....I put the date on each egg when i bring them in the house, I could add the name too if I wanted to hee hee

We have 6 people in our family and every sunday we have a big breakfast with all the eggs scrambled from the week. so every week we start over collecting eggs.

I have a big 36 count egg carton. I have wrote on the carton each chickens name.
Each chicken gets her own row.
I put each chicken's egg in her own row as it is collected from the week.



I should be getting 1 or 2 more eggs today. The second row is the chicken I just got 2 weeks ago. She has only been laying for me for 2 days now and her eggs are SO small. She has been laying an egg a day though so I may have 2 more eggs I get today.

By the looks of my carton I think I need 1 more chicken LOL I have a younger hen that has not started laying yet. once she starts to lay eggs I will still have a blank row that will need filled huh? LOL

 

[Rhoise]

We have 6 people in our family and every sunday we have a big breakfast with all the eggs scrambled from the week. so every week we start over collecting eggs.

I have a big 36 count egg carton. I have wrote on the carton each chickens name.
Each chicken gets her own row.
I put each chicken's egg in her own row as it is collected from the week.



I should be getting 1 or 2 more eggs today. The second row is the chicken I just got 2 weeks ago. She has only been laying for me for 2 days now and her eggs are SO small. She has been laying an egg a day though so I may have 2 more eggs I get today.

By the looks of my carton I think I need 1 more chicken LOL I have a younger hen that has not started laying yet. once she starts to lay eggs I will still have a blank row that will need filled huh? LOL

ahHa!!! I am not alone!!!! hee hee hee!!! Awesome!!!

 

[Yukonchick]

Holy cow!! I got 11 hens. I wonder if any will lay two a day,LOL. What breed are yours?

 

[Mildwether]

You are a Chicken God! Yesterday I go outside to feed my ladies their "sweets" (fruit and such) and for a change Poppy did not chase me around and act like a serial bird killer! I actually got worried because I thought something could be wrong, she could be ill or hurt. Called my hubby out to check her out as well, he stopped took a look in the nesting boxes and held up an egg! Now Poppy is the sweetheart we originally had so I'm guessing the egg is hers!

Either way our first egg! There was much celebration in the household!

Now next question.....do the eggs get bigger? Compared to the size of our birds, the one egg we have gotten was slightly larger than a big gum ball. But it was a beautiful shade of brown!

 

[Rhoise]

Now next question.....do the eggs get bigger? Compared to the size of our birds, the one egg we have gotten was slightly larger than a big gum ball. But it was a beautiful shade of brown!

Yes they do get bigger, noticably almost daily.
My RIR's have gone from tiny to large size in 2 weeks, sex links are jumbos started large took a week to go jumbo, barred rock large from tiny took three weeks , ambers xlarge took a week started med-large

 

[7 Biddies]

I just can't help myself. Every time I see the title of this thread, How can I tell if they have started laying yet?, I want to reply, "If you find eggs, they're laying."

7 Biddies ... Ever the impulsive Smart A

 

[pemphredo]

well my RIR, Ponderosa, i had never SEEN her lay an egg yet. I had seen everyone else but not her. so today I sat for hours with my video camera. guess what I got!

 

[Yukonchick]

LOL! ya for sure. Ya gotta feed and water them everyday so i check the nests. one of my 11 hens is starting to lay one little egg a day.

 

[Yukonchick]

Isn't it satisfying to know you're own food is healthy and you produce it yourself. The eggs don't come from a factory where the chickens are stuffed with drugs to make them lay lots and exhaust the poor birds.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

well my RIR, Ponderosa, i had never SEEN her lay an egg yet. I had seen everyone else but not her. so today I sat for hours with my video camera. guess what I got!

You are fortunate, awesome to have been there!