I hope whoever invented Orbeez steps on a Lego!

[Fishkeeper]

If you aren't letting them out until 4, it might be they aren't getting enough natural light to lay eggs. Do you know for a fact that your light works to get eggs from them normally?
They should be fine. I'm sure a lot of Orbeez are eaten by various creatures, including small kids, so they gotta be made to be nontoxic. That's what happens when you make things that look like berries and let them near kids.

 

[aart]

Lots of Lego's!
The kid who dumped them, not the inventor.

I hope your birds are OK.

I'm sure a lot of Orbeez are eaten by various creatures, including small kids, so they gotta be made to be nontoxic.

Probably not toxic, but blockage in a chicken could be an issue.

 

[gabscilla]

Thanks y'all.

In the past, my daddy just used a 100 watt bulb to entice egg production. He only had heritage breeds. So, that's what we are using. I didn't know there was a difference. What kind of bulb would you recommend? I won't use a heat lamp. Too risky. We decided to push back to a later time in the day due to these young ones aren't laying until the afternoon.

We will never not train our chickens again. The kids have been good and teaching them to lay their eggs in the morning, and in boxes. Looks like they'll have to go back to putting in the extra effort when they get their new chicks each year.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

so we had already decided that after their friends went home we would keep the chickens confined with a light on in the coop each day until they were all laying in the nesting boxes. However, they have stopped laying completely. We got one egg a day each day this week from 47 chickens. They are not laying them anywhere else.

I was hoping the stress of being confined all week with hardly any outdoor time (just before dusk) might be stressing them and causing them to not lay.

If the orbeez are hydrated, they will probably pass them o.k.
I'm like @21hens-incharge not finding a lot of information on them, but on their site it says you can "crush" the hydrated ones - I'm not familiar with them, is that true? They can be crushed by a child? If so, I don't see a problem with them being crushed in the gizzard as long as there's not a whole crop full. Chickens will eat anything

I think you may have solved your problem about not getting eggs. You confined 47 chickens...if they are used to free ranging all day, then likely the stress of confinement has taken it's toll. (how much space are they confined to? Photos?)
Since they have been in for a week, hopefully once you let them out again, they will use the nesting boxes.

 

[gabscilla]

If the orbeez are hydrated, they will probably pass them o.k.
I'm like @21hens-incharge not finding a lot of information on them, but on their site it says you can "crush" the hydrated ones - I'm not familiar with them, is that true? They can be crushed by a child? If so, I don't see a problem with them being crushed in the gizzard as long as there's not a whole crop full. Chickens will eat anything

I think you may have solved your problem about not getting eggs. You confined 47 chickens...if they are used to free ranging all day, then likely the stress of confinement has taken it's toll. (how much space are they confined to? Photos?)
Since they have been in for a week, hopefully once you let them out again, they will use the nesting boxes.

They are mostly easy to break. But occasionally they will get a tough one. As long as they have rocks in their gizzards they will probably break down fine. I guess I'm going to have to give in in this game of "chicken" and let them have a little more natural daylight action.

 

[gabscilla]

I have pictures of the coop on my phone. Will post them in a few minutes. it's big enough, but by no means what they are used to as far as free ranging. They are probably just stressed.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I would have kids crawling around picking any remaining orbeez up.

I have been researching how to shrink them.......
Yeah the sun will do it. Then they are tiny delicious looking bits.

I can only imagine what they would do in a chicken crop if swallowed in that state.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Agree with the rest, your girls are NOT happy being confined. Think that may be your problem, weather sunlight the next ... Mind if I ask where you are located?

Any idea how much the chickens ate? 21hens-incharge's idea of making the kids pick up the remaining orbeez is a good one. They shrink in the sun but if the chickens eat it, it will probably absorb liquid in their crop before getting to the gizzards.

Keep us updated

 

[gabscilla]

Agree with the rest, your girls are NOT happy being confined. Think that may be your problem, weather sunlight the next ... Mind if I ask where you are located?

Any idea how much the chickens ate? 21hens-incharge's idea of making the kids pick up the remaining orbeez is a good one. They shrink in the sun but if the chickens eat it, it will probably absorb liquid in their crop before getting to the gizzards.

Keep us updated

We are in Hartsville, Tennessee, about 15 minutes from KY. They said they picked up as many as they could, but when I just mentioned what will happen when they dry up the kids said they should go back and check to make sure they can get more up, so I doubt they did their best. Probably best they have been locked up, come to think of it. Thankfully it's been raining a lot on the days they've had outtings during daylight. Shew!

 

[gabscilla]

There were 10,000 in her trash bag. Probably at least half of them were dumped out when I caught her.