Hudson Valley NY *chat thread*

[LSzajko]

Quote:
Yay! Congratulations! She's a cutie and that egg......finally!

 

[Coupe]

Awesome!!! I love them! I would love to buy a couple from ya but I'm worried about introducing them to The Nuggets. They're about 10-11 weeks now. Do you think they'd integrate well or are the Orps/EE Nuggets too big/old by now?

When they are old enough to be put with the big guys im sure theyll be fine..Hamburgs are extremely fast! So I dont think they would get to beat up. Adding new chickens is always a gamble..some might be excepted right away and some might get picked on a bunch.

 

[charlie14]

Help! One of my pullets is laying in the ferns. The other one that is laying is using one of the nesting boxes so I thought all the ladies would. Do I have to lock them in the run until they know what they are doing?

 

[Coupe]

I would lock them up for acouple of days. Make sure you leave them locked in until the one laying in the ferns, lays in the coop or nest box.

 

[Sallysec]

Help! One of my pullets is laying in the ferns. The other one that is laying is using one of the nesting boxes so I thought all the ladies would. Do I have to lock them in the run until they know what they are doing?

Hey Charlie, first off Yes...I would lock them up. I had an EE who would march her little butt right out of the coop to this small spot next to the chimney wedged against a garden fence. She just loved to park her egg there. I locked her in and she would lay in the box...so then I would let them out later in the afternoon after she would lay. But I also would checkout the nest boxes. Take a look at the setup and just try to see if there might be a problem.
For example:
Is there enough boxes? She might run off and find another spot because it is occupied
Is there nesting material?
Maybe put a decoy egg in the other boxes?
Also I have one hen that won't let other girls into 'her' box.
Are the boxes private enough? Sometimes curtains or dividers are needed for large boxes.

Just look for a situation like that also. More than likely though it is just that she needs to be cooped in for a day or two with no free ranging.

 

[charlie14]

Thank you Sally. They seem to like the nesting boxes, but I think you are right. They are constantly scratching the shavings out until the box is bare; so I added a good layer of hay under the shavings. My husband may need to extend the bottom lip. I also ran out to Michael's and got 6 wooden eggs which we painted up ( they actually look and feel real) . I hate to keep everyone locked up because the two seem to lay at about 4pm, but I guess I am going to have to. The run is huge, but they still prefer to be out grubbing. It histerical, they line up at the door like they are waiting g for the NY marathon start and bolt when it opens.

 

[Sallysec]

Lol Charlie, mine do it too...it's worse if someone walks by and doesn't open it.....then they act like we are slaughtering them with all the noise they make.

 

[charlie14]

Haha yup. I got 3 eggs in the boxes yesterday! The shells seem so hard? We have been eating eggs from my friends chickens for years but the shells are not as hard as these.

 

[Sallysec]

Hard shells is a good thing. My girlfriend says she loves my hens eggs but that it takes her a lot of effort to crack them. It is good if they are strong, much better than weak or thin shelled eggs. I assume you are providing a good source of calcium (Oyster shell etc) .

 

[charlie14]

Yes free choice oyster shells.. I started to put it out the day we got our first egg. I am wary of layer food as my rooster is my pride bird. Right now they forage most of their food anyway.