laying?IS IT TOO SOON TO.....

[ksct]

ok i don't know if this question goes here or not but... here goes.


My birds will be 15 weeks old tomorrow

we have 12 Buff Orpington girls and 1 roo. Currently we have the (6) nest boxes blocked off with some straw so they can't sleep in there until it's time to lay....I've read on here they can start as early as 18/19 weeks up to 28 weeks. My question is.... when should we take the straw out for them so they will go in there to lay? we will be putting the straw down in the boxes for them to stay warm etc but I don't want them to 'hang out' in there. Should we start now and put some golf balls or fake eggs in there or something so they know what it's for? Or is it too early for them to get it.

looking forward to the responses!
thanks!

 

[PeeperKeeper]

My girls started snooping around the laying nests at about 3 weeks before they started laying. So I think YES you'd better get your nests in order or they'll find somewhere else to lay.

 

[fordmommy]

You can put golf balls or fake eggs in there. That kinda shows them that that is where the eggs go.

I just put the nesting boxes in the coop when I started to see signs of squatting.

I personally use pine shavings now. I didn't like the hay.

My girls where hatched sometime in March and some started laying about a month ago. But I still have a some not laying yet.

I think you could wait a few more weeks to open the boxes up.

Hope this helps.

 

[ksct]

I Appreciate Both Responses But They Are On The Other Sides Of The Spectrum. Anyone Else Have Any Ideas?
I Just Re-read The Post I Found About The Age Certain Breeds Lay...... It's Still Saying About 19-20ish Weeks. My Birds Will Be 19 Weeks In 4 Weeks. I Just Don't Want Them To Sleep In The Nest Boxes, But I Would Like Them To Know What They Are For....
Any More Suggestions?

IF I PUT THE GOLF BALLS OR FAKE EGGS IN...... WILL THAT DETER THEM FROM SLEEPING ETC IN THEM?

 

[PunkinPeep]

I'm not sure whether the golf balls will keep them from sleeping in the nesting boxes, but i have another comment.

Since there is such a wide range of time in which the bo's will start laying, i suggest you try to gauge how mature yours are. If their faces are still pink, instead of getting red, if their combs and wattles aren't really developed, then i doubt that they are about to lay.

I'm not an expert, but if i were you, i would watch for the signs before opening it up if you're concerned.

Also, a lot of people have just trained their chickens to go to the roost by moving them at night, if they do happen to go to sleep in the nesting box.

I had a flock of bo's, and the one who appeared to be maturing faster than the rest started laying around 23 weeks. She also sang the egg song for at least a month before she started laying. I'm sure that's not normal; i'm just saying that there are signs you can look for. Age isn't all there is to it.

I would wait until i started seeing some of them squatting.

Blessings!

Beth