How Many Eggs Did You Get Today?

[subhanalah]

Do you leave your hens in the henhouse until later in the morning so they'll lay?
Or do you let them out into the yard and assume they'll go back to the henhouse to lay?

mine so far have gone back to the nesting boxes to lay their eggs, even the new girls.

 

[tntchix]

2 for 2! My girls are trying out different nest boxes they both moves down a box today.

 

[Sylviaanne]

Do you leave your hens in the henhouse until later in the morning so they'll lay?
Or do you let them out into the yard and assume they'll go back to the henhouse to lay?

I am hoping I will not come across any nests in the yard because I am not getting as many eggs as I should but I was trying not to let them out of the run until noon to make sure they were laying their eggs in the coop. I have gotten kind of lax and have been letting them out earlier, anywhere from 8am to 10am. I don't know if they are laying less because of the heat or if they are laying out in the yard somewhere. Some of them do lay in the coop so I get anywhere from 2 eggs to 7 eggs per day. That is from 2 ducks and 6 chickens. My last adult hen is broody and the eggs are hatching. I had some in the incubator because the other girls were laying on her or laying when she went on break. She hatched one and I have snuck 4 under her and still have about 5 that have hatched that I will try to sneak under her.

 

[mama2molly]

3/5!!!!
I'm pretty sure it's my BR girl, though I haven't "witnessed" it yet. So exciting!

 

[ochochicas]

Do you leave your hens in the henhouse until later in the morning so they'll lay?
Or do you let them out into the yard and assume they'll go back to the henhouse to lay?

Mine always go back to the nest boxes to lay. Even the pullets have always laid in the nests from the start. I only had one accident where a hen laid an egg in the grass because I had moved her to a different coop and she didn't want to go in there. Sometimes they like to go in the barn where they have a nest on top of a bale of hay.

 

[gander007]

Quote:

My Chickens , Ducks , Geese , and even the Guinea all cover the egg's with sand and less then an inch and the air will circulate between the grains of sand as it is loose and soft for the most part and sand is really small bits of rock unlike dirt that can seal and yes I have had chicken egg's hatch out there in the yard with out a mother hen brooding them so I know it works but at my age and health it is kind of funny chasing 1 day old chicks around the yard ...


The direct sun will cook the egg's and some 30 years ago when I was stationed two hours from here at Ft. Irwin some time people would crack open an egg and cook it on the fenders of the tanks to show the new guys how hot it really is in the desert and around metal objects and yes the egg would fully cook in just a couple of minutes ......

 

[Sylviaanne]

My Chickens , Ducks , Geese , and even the Guinea all cover the egg's with sand and less then an inch and the air will circulate between the grains of sand as it is loose and soft for the most part and sand is really small bits of rock unlike dirt that can seal and yes I have had chicken egg's hatch out there in the yard with out a mother hen brooding them so I know it works but at my age and health it is kind of funny chasing 1 day old chicks around the yard ...

I haven't read all the posts but if the mama doesn't go back to the eggs in the sand, couldn't you put a short fence around them before the eggs hatch so the chicks can't escape you?

 

[gander007]

Quote:

Some of the brush here turns into tumbleweeds so it is a very big plant but I guess I could if I had the energy ,,, but for the most part I just leave them alone or find them after they hatch ...

 

[Sylviaanne]

Some of the brush here turns into tumbleweeds so it is a very big plant but I guess I could if I had the energy ,,, but for the most part I just leave them alone or find them after they hatch ...

Oh, I thought they were laying them kind of out in the open and then covering them with sand. I didn't stop to realize that they were probably laying them under some brush and then kicking the sand over them.

Still, I'm with you, I don't want to be chasing babies in the heat or any other time for that matter. LOL I thought at first that maybe you could sit in the house and make a big round pen of hardware cloth and short posts to just put over the clutch but if there's a bush of some kind, that wouldn't be feasible.

 

[cabinchicky]

Heat n humid in ohio has my girls production slowed. Not even bothering to post my counts. Hit n miss with one or none.