I'm never gonna get an egg!!!

[Alecia Davidshofer]

I feel so silly posting this. But....I was just tucking my chooks in for the night, and I was smiling to myself thinking how much I love to do this. I really do! Doing the head count, giving them a mealy worm, a pat on the head or beak, locking all the locks, giving them fresh food and water, saying goodnight. Trying to avoid the creepy spider crickets that are waiting to pounce on me in the near-darkness.

I wonder if it feels kind of like tucking your human children in for the night. I imagine it does, a little. I never had kids and never will (too old), but is the feeling kind of the same? Kind of sweet, and sentimental? My dogs sleep with me so there's no tucking in there. If anyone would have told me how much I would grow to love my little chickens, and care for my flock, I never would have believed them.

But there it is. My crazy, wonderful, inexplicable chicken love. Goodnight, my sweet featherbabies.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww sooo cute!!

 

[pitbullmomma]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww sooo cute!!

thank you.

 

[apryl29]

@pitbullmomma Black Australorp are good layers too and don't tent to have attitudes.

I totally agree w/ everyone on Australorps! I only have 1 and she's really nice. I haven't had a single problem with her being a meanie or anything. She also lays fairly regularly once I discovered which eggs were hers.

When I went out to buy oyster shell, I was really surprised when I got home and dumped it into the container -- that stuff is like white garden rock. I had raised some canaries before and we gave them powdered calcium and crushed eggshell, so had not expected that stuff to be so big.

Yes and mothers too Before I got the chickens, I told my mom I was going to move her and all her crap to the coop. That was before I fixed it up. hahahaha

I thought it was weird too, but they do eat the oyster shells. I've even seen some of them in their poop once in a while. I thought something was wrong w/ them, but realized it was just the oyster shells.
And I'd like to +1 the mom thing. I totally hope I'm not like her when I get older.

I'm sooo going to hades for this.

We can sit together. I've had my reservations confirmed for a while now.

do you really think a public library would be appropriate

Oh.. you don't want to know what happens in libraries. We all have stories. This one library I work at had an grown adult man who was peeing in the stacks. IDK why he did it, but they ended up having security cameras installed and had staff regularly patrolling the area for a while before he was caught & arrested. We catch patrons looking at inappropriate stuff.. queue awkward convo. Once we had a child who mistyped a popular website and ended in a porn site. She was horrified and afraid she was going to get in trouble. We also had a staff person's grandson send us an email on our content filtering program to tell us that he IS allowed to go to an adult website. We LOL'd at that one. There's actually larger libraries in big cities that have private rooms where adults can have unfiltered internet access. Ew. Glad I don't work there, but I do feel dirty after crawling around on the floor in some of our libraries.

I think its hers. I didn't see her lay it. Its bluer than the photo shows. But its possible one of my 2 EE's laid it. Ill have to keep an eye out.

For weeks I thought my daughter's chicken Olive was laying the 2nd Olive egg, but today I saw 2 white chickens deposit eggs into a nest and 1 was blue and the other was green.. which means Olive may lay blue eggs. Olive is also molting so I'm not sure if she's even laying at all. I KNOW Damon lays green eggs... So that 2nd blue egg may be Olive's.. won't know for sure until I catch her laying.

OK, soooooo....... <no egg yet that I can see. BUT!>

This morning I was awakened by my annoying-ass cockerel crowing. But I heard these other weird noises and my hub was like "those are the chickens" and I was like "no that's some other random bird cuz my chooks don't make that noise." When I went outside I heard all this:

BukbukbukbukbubukSQUEAK!BukbukbukbukbubukSQUEAK!BukbukbukbukbubukSQUEAK!

Of course, when I got to the coop it stopped. But it was loud AF. I *think* it was Black Betty, my very-red-plump-combed banty cochin. And there was some serious raping action going on between her and Lafayette.

I googled "the egg song" and this is exactly what it sounded like. I looked all over the coops, but no egg. Do they do this before they lay? (or only after/during?) If so, how long does it usually go on before they pop one out? Also, her hooha area looked a tiny bit bloody. PLEASE tell me I will have an egg soon! Do I need to sift through tons of poop bedding, shouldn't it be proudly in the next box? FWIW, the fake egg was (unceremoniously) kicked out of the nest box into the middle of the coop a couple days ago. Does THIS mean anything? Am I reading too much into all of this?

I want that million dollar freakin' egg!!! Do tell, wonderful BYC peeps!!!!!

Mine do this. They'll run around making tons of noise and there's NOTHING in the nest. They do eventually lay, but normally hate having an audience.

I think that's fine or even economical LEDs.

I just bought a Sylvania LED bulb, 40 watt, but I feel it's too bright for my coop. It's awesome though b/c it's plastic and it doesn't get hot b/c it's an LED! I also got a timer from the Xmas section in Walmart. You can set it to turn on/off in 1/2 hr increments. Tonight was the first day I used it. I have it set to turn on at 6 am, off at 7 am (sun should be up), then turn on at 5pm and off at 6. I was going to have it on until 8pm, but I had 5 girls on the roost and ready for bed so I figured they could use the sleep since I made a lot of changes to their coop today.

 

[apryl29]

@Crooked Chicken Also, there was a thread a while back about people finding steel wool in their oyster shell. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/steel-wool-pieces-in-oyster-shell.1201471/
I never found any in my bag, but you might want to keep an eye out when you're dishing it out.

 

[CABINHOLLOWNC]

Yep, I mean I have electricity and I turn the lights on if I go in there early in the AM or at night, but I don't keep it on. Just natural daylight.

I bought a timer that allows you to set two different events (morning & evening) for the lights to come on and go off. Here is the view from my upstairs office this morning (please pardon the window screen).

 

[andreanar]

@pitbullmomma I love tucking in my chooks! Mostly, because I find roosting drama hilarious! I talk to them too, say goodnight girls, see you in the morning! LOL.

 

[apryl29]

I bought a timer that allows you to set two different events (morning & evening) for the lights to come on and go off. Here is the view from my upstairs office this morning (please pardon the window screen).
View attachment 1180065

What time do you turn on/ off your lights? I worry that I'm keeping them up too late and it will cause them to fight.

@pitbullmomma I love tucking in my chooks! Mostly, because I find roosting drama hilarious! I talk to them too, say goodnight girls, see you in the morning! LOL.

Their fighting gives me anxiety! Last night after my coop changes I stood at the window and watched them like a creeper. There was pecking and shoving and I was so worried that someone would get hurt. I lowered the roost and things seemed to get a little better. I tried putting Jackie on the new roost with Jaiden and Jaiden moved over and started pecking at Jackie.. like the roost was all hers and she wasn't sharing. I'm starting to wonder if maybe I need to put the 2nd roost back over on the long side, but I don't think there's enough space. Either that or maybe make a roost in front of the nesting boxes that sticks out farther so it's easier for them to jump up to the roost. I don't know. I'm sure they'll adapt to whatever it's like, but I apparently just like to worry about stupid stuff.

 

[andreanar]

I have my dumb favs and now my 2 little cochins that wont roost on the high bar with the others. I had to put in another board for them to roost on. For some dang reasons, some of the girls are picking on one of the little cochins, pulling her feathers out! I'm going to get some Pick No More stuff today and go cover her with it and hope they leave her alone! I don't know why they are picking on her and not the other one. Poor Lucy, she looks depressed.

 

[apryl29]

I never understood that either. When they're in the run Olive gets pecked at, but it seems when it's time to roost the pecking order changes. Olive has her spot and god help anyone who gets in her way. I get there's a pecking order, but why do they have to be so mean about it. Can't they all just get along? This isn't the 1800's where food is scarce & it's every bird for herself.

 

[CABINHOLLOWNC]

What time do you turn on/ off your lights? I worry that I'm keeping them up too late and it will cause them to fight.


Their fighting gives me anxiety! Last night after my coop changes I stood at the window and watched them like a creeper. There was pecking and shoving and I was so worried that someone would get hurt. I lowered the roost and things seemed to get a little better. I tried putting Jackie on the new roost with Jaiden and Jaiden moved over and started pecking at Jackie.. like the roost was all hers and she wasn't sharing. I'm starting to wonder if maybe I need to put the 2nd roost back over on the long side, but I don't think there's enough space. Either that or maybe make a roost in front of the nesting boxes that sticks out farther so it's easier for them to jump up to the roost. I don't know. I'm sure they'll adapt to whatever it's like, but I apparently just like to worry about stupid stuff.

It turns on at 5:00 AM and off at 8:00AM then turns on again at 5:30 PM and off at 9:00 PM.