I can't take it anymore, please, please let there be an egg!

[swmalone]

Okay so maybe that is a little overly dramatic, but I am getting so anxious. I have 3 16 week old pullets. From left to right in the attached picture is Princess Buttercup a buff orpington, Trinity a black sex-link, and Victoria a black australorp. Buttercup's comb and waddles have been large and bright for a little over a week and she has started to make an awful racket. Trinity's comb has started to develop a bit more and she is starting to get more vocal as well. Then there is Victoria, her comb is still pretty small and she is quiet and extremely shy. Victoria is also at the bottom of the pecking order, I try to make sure she gets a good treat but she won't even come up to me to grab a tasty grasshopper.

I check probably about 5-10 times a day to see if I have an egg, but nothing yet. I had to seal off the egg box because they were all sleeping in it, but I am worried that I should open it up just in case they decide to give an egg at any time now. Any thoughts?

 

[3goodeggs]

The buff is getting close. When she starts to squat down in front of you, you may want to replace the box.

 

[draye]

16 Weeks! that really about 35early except for maybe sex linked chickens. My experience ( about 35 years off and on) most will not lay until around 20 to 24 weeks and some take a little longer. Sometimes up to 90 months.

 

[Happy Chooks]

The buff is REALLY close. This awful racket - does it sound like bok bok bok bok BAGAWWWK? That's the egg song.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

16 weeks is really early, give them a few more. The Buff is close though

 

[ChicKat]

Quote:
Hi Swimalone!

Stop torturing yourself. lol. Yes, it is sooo hard to wait. (Que song 'anticipation')

You could have early layers but I second draye's view that 20-24 weeks is a more likely date. Still, you never know.

Hang in there, and boast when your first egg(s) come along.

Maybe seal the egg box at night when you put them to bed, and unseal during the day when they are out in the tractor. Also---a fake egg, in the nest box may help them know where to lay when the time is right. So seal up nest box at night and unseal in the day.

PS love your chickens and their names. cool!

Jus a little longer and you will be getting eggs.

 

[CarolJ]

Mine are 20 weeks and 2 days - and still no eggs. It'll happen. Good luck to you.

 

[swmalone]

I think that sometimes that racket is the egg song, and other times I think it is just her wanting out of the run to get out and chase me around. The tractor is the entire coop, the top is the coop I seal up at night then I let them down and I have added a PVC run extension that is light and easy to move around. That is a good idea though to just seal the box off at night. I figured not to expect any eggs until at the earliest about 18 weeks. The weird thing is that I heard sex linked birds are often earlier but my buff orpington is a lot further along than the sex link.

 

[3goodeggs]

My buffs started around 18 weeks. I was surprised, because I thought I had a few more weeks to wait. The comb gets very bright red. And they seem frazzled or confused. I suppose the first egg is quite a shock, poor dears.

 

[swmalone]

Well she has been acting pretty frazzled for a little over a week. Most people have said I probably still have a couple of weeks for her, and from the looks of things she will be my first.