laying eggs unknown, breed unknown

[blackwingedwolf]

Yin, my Bantam chicken, is the only one that hasn't laid yet. She's about 32 weeks old and her comb and wattle suggests that she might be ready to lay. What do you guys say? She's the smaller chick with the white earlobes. Also, if you recognize what breed she is, that would be helpful if you can tell me that too! I have no real idea what she is...

 

[krista74]

Hi there!

Not sure what breed she is but she is such a sweet little thing! I wonder if she has some Minorca in her - they have white ears. But again, I'm not familiar with the breed so hopefully someone more experienced might have an idea.

I wonder if she might be not quite be ready to lay yet. I presume that bantams are the same as full sized chickens and that their faces should be bright red before they start laying? In comparison to the big girl next to her, her face is not quite as red. Maybe she is just a little slower to mature.

Her wattles are certainly reddening up though so hopefully it won't be too long a wait for you.

- Krista

 

[blackwingedwolf]

Yeah, i got a few people telling me in my other post that she might be a black Hamburg or a Rosecomb. She's at least two weeks older than the Big Onyx, so i was wondering what was going on. This is still my first year with chicks, so i don't know if she's slow to mature or not. It'll be even more helpful if i knew her breed so that i can find more info on her .-.

 

[aart]

In't that the sweetest pic!

Do you free range, might she have a secret nest?

 

[blackwingedwolf]

They have access to the yard at all times unless it's pouring rain or even hailing. We haven't gotten snow yet, but we're prepared for that.. i think. I already checked the whole yard, even in the nocks and crannies that she only can fit in. I didn't find anything. I did find a dead bird that they caught yesterday. Is it normal for chickens to kill other birds? My girls like to chase the wild bird, kill 'em, and then make a snack out of 'em.

 

[aart]

They have access to the yard at all times unless it's pouring rain or even hailing. We haven't gotten snow yet, but we're prepared for that.. i think. I already checked the whole yard, even in the nocks and crannies that she only can fit in. I didn't find anything. I did find a dead bird that they caught yesterday. Is it normal for chickens to kill other birds? My girls like to chase the wild bird, kill 'em, and then make a snack out of 'em.

Yeah, it can be normal....don't think it's too common.

Might want lock them in the coop for a couple days, (they can be very, very sneaky about where they lay) 'force' them to use the nests in the coop.

Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for 2-3 days can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. They can be confined to coop 24/7 for a few days to a week, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it.

 

[blackwingedwolf]

I'm just kinda nervous for the youngest one. She always get picked on once they're locked in. i think it's just because they're frustrated that they have to stay in, so they take it out on her. My dad says that another reason why they probably pick on her is because i give her the most attention and the others are jealous, but i don't think chickens work that way...

 

[aart]

How many bird total (ages and how long lived together)?
How big is your coop(feet by feet)?
How many nests do you have in the coop?

Crowding can cause stress and aggression, but there will always be a pecking order and a 'low bird' in the ranking.
If they have enough room they will work it out and tho the pecking doesn't seem 'nice'.... that's how birds set their social order.
As long as there's no serious blood drawn or a bird is not being pinned down and pounded on, just let them work it out.
Places in the coop to hide out of line of sight and places up and away gives the lower birds some relief.
Multiple feed/water stations help a lot too as sustenance is a prime territory to defend.

 

[blackwingedwolf]

Okay!! Sorry, too me a while to get the right ages... Had to make a "sticky note" on my computer and count exactly how old they are.

Before I list the ages or mention the coop, They do not draw blood on the youngest one (Tiger Lily), they just grab a hold of her feathers, hold her for a minute as she screams and tries to pull away, and then they let her go and watch her stumble. Every now and again, they chase her off from the food, but I understand that part: She's the lower bird, and the others get to eat before her. The only one that doesn't seem to mind Tiger Lily now is the Queen of the Coop, Orchid. Orchid even allowed Tiger Lily to hide the her nest box when she was waiting to lay an egg. All Tiger Lily did was curl up next to Orchid. See?

Now for the information:

1.) There is Seven Birds in total. I didn't actually calculate how long they've been together, but i put the date that i got them, how old they were when i got them, and how old they are now. So you can see how time progressed.

Orchid and Camellia ~ March 29, 2014 (Saturday)
First Home: 2 weeks old
Is Now At: 36 weeks, 1 days old

Yin and Yang ~ April 15, 2014 (Tuesday)
First Home: 1 week old
Is Now At: 32 weeks, 5 days old

Ruby and Rose ~ April 19, 2014 (Saturday)
First Home: 4 weeks old
Is Now At: 35 weeks, 1 days old

Onyx ~ July 13, 2014 (Day Yang left ~ Sunday)
First Home: 13 weeks old
Is Now At: 32 weeks, 0 days old

Tiger Lily ~ September 20, 2014 (Saturday)
First Home: 9 weeks old
Is Now At: 18 weeks, 1 days old


2.) The coop is about 7 feet by 14 feet (I think... been a while since i made it..) here are some pictures to show. I tried keeping everything off the ground as much as possible, to give them more running space, and there is an empty planter that i should take out

i was growing some vegetables for them... but they ate it to the root within a few days

here you can see the perch i made for the on the far right on the post, and you can barely see it, but there's a swing that they love to sit on and rock by the post that dead middle of the picture. The pots with grass and the empty planter is always seen here.

in this one, you can see another bar for them to rest on and in the background, on a stepping platform is their feeder, their blue dust bucket, and then their other feeder. I had it covered since they made a mess, and I wanted them to peck the food off the ladder first.

and here, you can see two of the three nesting boxes, their two waters and my two girls (Orchid and Tiger Lily) sitting in one of the boxes. you can kinda see the food container a bit better from this angle.

This is their roost, where they sleep during the night. The block on the ground next to the ladder up to the roost is for my bantam, since she's so small, she needs her on step stool to reach the water

This is just added. I did put in sod to grow grass in their coop, so they can have grass during the winter, but they ended up staying in the coop and eating it down to the root, killing it in only a few months

welp... at least I tried.

and again, added the food container that we made for them, I made sure they knew how to use it before i left them to feed themselves.had to use the block since they were still to young to reach it themselves

this is the door that we made for them to leave the coop through out the day. a good enough size for even my big bird to go through! Thank goodness...


3.) and the third question was kinda already answered.. There's three in total. The one that wasn't seen in the pictures was outside of the coop by the chicken door. An outside table is over the whole box to protect it, and a fencing is around it to give the birds a bit more of a sense of security, and they love sitting in that one spot. You can kinda see it behind Tiger Lily's fat head






Did this help at all? if you have any more questions, i'll be more than happen to answer them