IT HAPPENED!!!

[MochaLatte]

Well at 5 am Nugget jumps down from the roost and goes to the nest box. At first I thought it was Hummer since they look very similar in the night mode and Nugget is not normally an early layer even after a day off. So once I wake up I go out to get her egg and see this "huge" egg. I was surprised to weigh it and see it is only 52g. Guess she heard my complaint. Lol. A pic of it in my hand, on the scale, and next to a 46g egg of hers.

What an awesome egg to wake up to!! Nicely done Nugget! Now go whisper things to Hummer and find out what her deal is, for us...

 

[junior67]

What an awesome egg to wake up to!! Nicely done Nugget! Now go whisper things to Hummer and find out what her deal is, for us...

Wish she would. Besides bed Hummer doesn't even go near the coop. Which is normal for most of my girls but here and there they will pop in. She hasn't since she last laid.

 

[MochaLatte]

Wish she would. Besides bed Hummer doesn't even go near the coop. Which is normal for most of my girls but here and there they will pop in. She hasn't since she last laid.

This sounds just like what my girls were doing when they started molt. Nugget was the first to stop laying and I thought she was sick or something... it was like 2 weeks or so after her before the other girls quit laying to molt.

 

[junior67]

This sounds just like what my girls were doing when they started molt. Nugget was the first to stop laying and I thought she was sick or something... it was like 2 weeks or so after her before the other girls quit laying to molt.

I know we went over this before when she went to her 3 day break the first time so we thought maybe it was that. Could you tell your girls were molting? She still looks the same from what I can tell but I haven't really examined her. but she is eating and running all over fine so assuming there is nothing "wrong" with her (like sick, egg bound etc) so just figure the lack of day light. What is odd is the 21st was the shortest day of the year and now they are getting longer. So leading up to the shortest day she went back to every other day, then she stopped on the shortest day and hasn't laid since. if anything would have thought if it was that then she would have stayed at 3 days apart or went to 4 then 5 etc and gotten longer between. not went from no eggs for 3 days between laying to laying every other day then boom stopping....... so maybe it is a molt? She only laid 9 so far for the month of Dec....

 

[MochaLatte]

I know we went over this before when she went to her 3 day break the first time so we thought maybe it was that. Could you tell your girls were molting? She still looks the same from what I can tell but I haven't really examined her. but she is eating and running all over fine so assuming there is nothing "wrong" with her (like sick, egg bound etc) so just figure the lack of day light. What is odd is the 21st was the shortest day of the year and now they are getting longer. So leading up to the shortest day she went back to every other day, then she stopped on the shortest day and hasn't laid since. if anything would have thought if it was that then she would have stayed at 3 days apart or went to 4 then 5 etc and gotten longer between. not went from no eggs for 3 days between laying to laying every other day then boom stopping....... so maybe it is a molt? She only laid 9 so far for the month of Dec....

I literally could not tell they were molting. I thought it was from mites because I found a few mites on the edge of the coop (I couldn't find any on the birds... lol) so treated them all and the coop+run for 3 weeks... by the end of that I realized they were actually just molting. By then I could tell their tail feathers especially looked different like they each only had 1 or 2 tail feathers... Nugget molted the hardest, and I didn't even notice hers early on. So it's possible...

 

[MochaLatte]

Alright... I was suppose to do this yesterday but got too busy! Here is an update on the babies:

 

[junior67]

I literally could not tell they were molting. I thought it was from mites because I found a few mites on the edge of the coop (I couldn't find any on the birds... lol) so treated them all and the coop+run for 3 weeks... by the end of that I realized they were actually just molting. By then I could tell their tail feathers especially looked different like they each only had 1 or 2 tail feathers... Nugget molted the hardest, and I didn't even notice hers early on. So it's possible...

I will have to keep an eye out. I took a good look today when I went to get Annabelle's egg (well I have my grand daughter today and she finally got to get it. LOL). And there is one spot on her back that may or may not be from Itzy (it is close to her tail) that looks kinda "fluffy" like maybe some feathers are coming out. So maybe that is it. I also noticed when putting in Nuggets egg today that it was close to the size of Hummers last 2 so reweighed those (didn't have the app close and forgot the sizes of them) and her last 2 were 53 and 51g so she had kinda settled into the 50's when this happened too.....

 

[junior67]

Alright... I was suppose to do this yesterday but got too busy! Here is an update on the babies:
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Oh my just too cute!!!!!!!! Sage and Daenerys are just still the cutest but wow Zirco is turning into a stunner as well.

Green Queens are similar to EE right? that they "should" lay green eggs but they can be another color? do they all have feathered feet? Think the feed store near me may have had those last year so maybe an idea for another kind for me. LOL I know Ameraucana is a long stretch for me unless I order them. Can't remember if they had Marans or not but know they didn't have splash if they did. Can't wait to see what they will have this year and order them. I think the order forms come out in Feb!!!!!

 

[MochaLatte]

I will have to keep an eye out. I took a good look today when I went to get Annabelle's egg (well I have my grand daughter today and she finally got to get it. LOL). And there is one spot on her back that may or may not be from Itzy (it is close to her tail) that looks kinda "fluffy" like maybe some feathers are coming out. So maybe that is it. I also noticed when putting in Nuggets egg today that it was close to the size of Hummers last 2 so reweighed those (didn't have the app close and forgot the sizes of them) and her last 2 were 53 and 51g so she had kinda settled into the 50's when this happened too.....

It certainly sounds like she could be soft molting... (Nice sized eggs she's been getting into!)

Also, I'm glad your grand daughter got to grab an Annabelle egg today. That's so sweet.

If she is molting... throw her some extra protein. It helps them get through it faster and for healthy beautiful feathers. I gave my girls canned tuna and mackerel as "treats" for protein once I realized what was happening... and I'm glad I did!

 

[MochaLatte]

Sage and Daenerys are just still the cutest

Daenerys (Dany is her nickname) is so dang sassy already. I think Sage is going to be such a precious adult but she's terrified of me still for now LOL

Zirco is turning into a stunner as well.
Green Queens are similar to EE right? that they "should" lay green eggs but they can be another color?

I'm SO CONFUSED about Zirco. I thought she was just gonna be solid black, but now she's getting some interesting colors in at the ends?? Very curious about how she will full feather out!

Yes Green Queens are basically just a Meyer's branded green layer/EE... they have pics on their site of a bunch of different looking birds for this type... including a lovely wheaten one. From other searches it seems most people have just been getting solid black green Queens, though...so I was not surprised when they arrived and I saw a fluffy black chick. She will have a chance to lay brown like other eggers. This is part of their description on the site:
Green Queens are an extremely hardy breed that will lay lots of large green eggs. They will come in a wide range of colors, most are bearded, some will have feathered legs, and some even have 5 toes!