How unusual is this?

[bbhorsefly]

I started my flock at the end of May with some Easter Egger chicks. We got our very first egg 4 days ago! It was from my pullet. They were loose in the yard when we heard horrible squawking like I've never heard before. She was standing at the back door "singing." So we all ran outside looking for an egg. Found it on the floor of the coop! I wasn't expecting another egg for a few days since I've read it takes awhile before their systems regulate. The next day, she dug herself a nest in some drainage river pebbles. I carried her to the coop to try out the new nest box. It was too small. She just got up and walked out, but left behind a beautiful green egg! She started singing and strutting! I was surprised to get another egg so soon. I talked to a couple people that have kept flocks for years and they said that was so unusual that it was highly likely that the first egg wasn't even hers. But they couldn't explain her egg song which alerted us to it. None of the other pullets were around or at all interested in its presence. I figure we just got super lucky and go back to not expecting an egg for awhile. Yesterday, the very next day, we hear her singing away, she was still standing over the green egg she laid in her best in the rocks. My chicken friends are shocked. The first three eggs three days in a row from the same pullet. Is that so extraordinary? Now it's day four and I'm really curious what she's going to do. She's also laying in the afternoons. Could that have something to do with it?

 

[Ridgerunner]

As Aart said it takes “about” 25 hours for an egg to go through the hen’s internal egg making factory, “about” being the key. And there are different triggers for when a hen releases the yolk to start a new egg through that journey. One of those triggers is when she lays her egg, but there are others. One of those others is daylight. If it is too close to dark she doesn’t release a yolk so she doesn’t have to lay it after dark. Then at daylight the next morning she starts another egg, so she lays a bit later each day until she skips a day and starts the cycle over.

But each hen is an individual. For some the journey through her internal factory is less than 25 hours, for some it’s more. Some triggers to release the yolk may be stronger than others in certain hens. I’ve had hens that follow the general trend and lay an hour or two later each day until they skip a day. I’ve had hens that lay an egg about the same time each and every day until they skip a day. One clear example of that was a few years back when my only green egg layer at the time popped out an egg every day for 8 or 9 days in a row, then skipped a day. She laid her egg before 9:00 am every day or she did not lay that day. She also went broody and hatched and raised her chicks. She was back laying my only green eggs 2-1/2 weeks after her chicks hatched and she was my first hen that weaned her chicks at three weeks. Not a normal hen in many respects.

Any hen of any breed is an individual and may follow breed patterns, but also may not. Some breeds, like Orpington, are known to go broody a lot. But I’ve had Orpington that never went broody. Some just don’t follow breed tendencies. But Easter Eggers are not a breed. There are no standards they are supposed to meet except the hens might lay blue or green eggs. Even that is not a given. There are no recognized colors or patterns. Their legs can be any color. They may or may not have a pea comb, muffs or tufts. They may or may not go broody a lot. They may lay really well or lay horribly. They may be aggressive or docile. There are simply no trends they are supposed to follow.

I crossed my colored egg layers with other breeds and have developed a hen that might lay a brown or green egg but also go broody a lot and lay a lot of eggs, though the eggs are a bit small. I’m working on that. I can say that mine have certain trends because I’ve developed those trends. But that is with my individual flock. That is not typical of EE’s everywhere because EE’s don’t have trends.

 

[aart]

Quote: Time of lay will often regularly vary day to day...then a day off. That's why it's easiest to just keep them confined for a few days to a week.

It takes about 25 hours for an egg to form, a new ova is released shortly after an egg is laid.
A new egg could be laid approximately every 25-26 hours, so an hour or so later every day until one is laid late in the day and another ova might not be released until the following day, so a day off.
BUT..very hen is different and only time will tell what a particular hen/pullets schedule might be. Not every hen/pullet lays every day..some only lay a few a week.

 

[Morning]

Once my leghorns started laying, they never looked back. One a day for several months now. My sexlinks took longer. At 32 weeks they started.Pretty little rose colored eggs from them, but not daily. Yet. I've got a thirty three week old wellsummer that's still not laying. Willy the Freeloader.
As to the nest of choice, I swear , the only observation I've been able to see consistently, is that wherever they lay needs to be very private. I'd make the pebble next inaccessible, though, since you might get broken eggs. You might try putting one of her eggs in your choice of a nest and see if she'd get the hint.
I doubt that I'm the only one who thinks this but, heck, raising chickens in the summer was a lot more fun that raising them in the winter. Just sayin'

 

[wamtazlady]

When my first EE started to lay she laid for 13 days straight before she took a break of one day. Then she was back at it again. The EE I have now lays 2 or 3 eggs a week. There can be quite a difference between pullets.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve seen so many different things with pullets laying that I can’t say anything is normal, or maybe everything is normal. I’ve had pullets start laying at 16 weeks and pop, pop, pop, practically every day after that. I’ve had then wait until 9 months to start laying, again pop, pop, pop. I’ve also has some that were really sporadic. The only thing consistent about them is their inconsistency.

You almost had that pullet but you need a door. Make a door for your nest. The next time you see that pullet on her nest in the gravel, move her to the nest and lock her in there until she lays the egg. Usually that takes about 30 minutes but I had one take three hours. Stubborn hen! Usually they get the message the first time I do this but that stubborn hen took twice.

If you haven’t done it, put a fake egg in your nest to show them where to lay. I use golf balls but ceramic or wooden eggs or plastic Easter eggs work too. I’ve seen enough to be convinced that it often works. Does it always work? No! Someone posted on the forum that their chickens would not use the nests until they removed the fake eggs. Darn inconsistent hens! But it does work more often than not.

 

[PlanterJeff]

I also started my flock around the same time as you and I had a similar situation as you transpire on the 21st of this month. One of my hens wondered back to the hen house leaving the others, so I knew what she was up to. I followed her over there and witnessed her laying her first egg. I was super excited and took it inside and cooked it right away. I then went out to thank her for her hard work only to find her in the box again. She laid a second egg! No lie. Since that day she has produced and egg a day taking off every Sunday. I had to laugh because she has followed this schedule for two weeks now! She took off yesterday, but like clockwork she laid again today. I guess crazier things have happened. My brother told me that he had a chicken who laid two a day quite commonly.

 

[aart]

..... The only thing consistent about them is their inconsistency.....

Boy, ain't that the truth!!!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:

..... The only thing consistent about them is their inconsistency.....

Boy, ain't that the truth!!!

Yep!

To the OP, some hens start laying and never miss a beat. Others are hit and miss while their bodies adjust. There is no set pattern, each bird is an individual.

 

[HomesteadFrau]

I started my flock at the end of May with some Easter Egger chicks. We got our very first egg 4 days ago! It was from my pullet. They were loose in the yard when we heard horrible squawking like I've never heard before. She was standing at the back door "singing." So we all ran outside looking for an egg. Found it on the floor of the coop! I wasn't expecting another egg for a few days since I've read it takes awhile before their systems regulate. The next day, she dug herself a nest in some drainage river pebbles. I carried her to the coop to try out the new nest box. It was too small. She just got up and walked out, but left behind a beautiful green egg! She started singing and strutting! I was surprised to get another egg so soon. I talked to a couple people that have kept flocks for years and they said that was so unusual that it was highly likely that the first egg wasn't even hers. But they couldn't explain her egg song which alerted us to it. None of the other pullets were around or at all interested in its presence. I figure we just got super lucky and go back to not expecting an egg for awhile. Yesterday, the very next day, we hear her singing away, she was still standing over the green egg she laid in her best in the rocks. My chicken friends are shocked. The first three eggs three days in a row from the same pullet. Is that so extraordinary? Now it's day four and I'm really curious what she's going to do. She's also laying in the afternoons. Could that have something to do with it?

It's normal at least in my experience. My last flock(before the neighbors dog and the red fox) had some of my R.I.R's lay for many days straight and some were more sporadic at the start. In fact Miss Henrietta Featherbottom started laying and layed three eggs in a row, then three double yolkers in a row, then three more regular eggs. She then had a modest one day break(I wouldn't have been upset if she stopped for a month after that lol) and started right back up like a Champ. Congrats on the first eggs!