I have a bunch of wisecracks

[CKMom]

My birds are all 23 weeks old, and have not laid an egg yet. I am trying to be very patient.Teh nest boxes are ready and there are 2/3 golf balls in each one.

Yesterday I went to check the boxes , and found that all the golf balls were taken out and all over the floor of the coop. The birds were pecking at them and one was rolling one around. I put them back in the nests. Not sure if they don't like them, or they were trying to juggle with them.
I can't wait to replace them with real eggs....

 

[rhoda_bruce]

do they have access to oyster shells? I would be concerned, because ordinarily they can be fooled with golf balls. You don't want them thinking they can do that with eggs. How about you fixing an omlet for breakfast today with a bunch of eggs and save the shells. Then put the shells back together with candle wax (melted) and fill them with dish soap and also seal it and put that in the boxes a while? (actually I stole that idea recently.....its not mine)
It is good that they have seen the golf balls where they will be laying. Now they need to not play balls with them. And they have to believe they taste terrible. Depending on what your set up is and what breed of chicken we are talking about your eggs will show up soon and it would be nice if they were intact.

 

[flakey chick]

23 weeks might be a young, espeacially if your days are short. When I first introduced fake wooden eggs to my girls, they pecked at them hard. They didn't start to lay until the days started getting longer again. When the one girls was ready to lay, she kicked the fake eggs out of the nest. Now they will lay where I keep the fake eggs. If I remove the decoy, they search out a new spot.

 

[fordmommy]

That's funny! At least they are interested in them. When my girls started to lay, they would kick out the golf balls out of the nests. They were just too rough when they first started laying. They have settled down A LOT! Even the nasty chicken that had an attitude with me has settled down and is actually nice.

I would think it would be within a month with the right lighting.

 

[CKMom]

Just went out with some pumpkin guts for them.
The eggs are still in the boxes. I have a mixed flock of Dominiques, BO, EE, and Barred Cochin.
They are still gettiing ample sunlight, and spend a lot of time outside in their run.
The Doms, and BO are all singing the song, but no eggs yet.
They do get oyster shell free choice along with layer crumbles. It's funny because the rooster seems equally interested in the nesting boxes , and keeps looking in there to see what he can find. Those chickens won't have a chance to eat the eggs, I'll grab them up quick!