List of egglaying factors

[hoggie1985]

I have no eggs as of yet still got a while to go.... But I have been using plain yogurt for a treat about every other day, this should help with calcium.

 

[Pjsmithsparky]

I am geting silkies and I havnt had the experience with egg laying yet but my friends had what they say are normal chickens but I think they mean Isa browns but yeah so they put a golf ball in a bush were the chickens had make a nest. They spent a long time making a coop from scratch and well now the chickens only nest in the bushes but apparently they are great layers. They don't know what to do with the eggs. So some thing like an egg could get them to do it.:/ or you could pit vinegar in the water that can help

 

[Pjsmithsparky]

​

Soz I mean scrubs of the trees

 

[DebbieParker]

Thanks for that info!

 

[WhisperingWinds]

This thread has been very interesting!! Thanks to all for sharing their experiences and knowledge.

We just got our very first egg today!!

I only have two hens that are old enough to lay eggs, and one roo.
I keep them locked up at night, they normally head to the coop just before it gets dark. Nothing can get in their coop!

I raised the roo (Fred) since he was a couple days old. The girls we just got a couple of weeks ago. We traded the other 8 roo's that we got as babies for the two girls and 30+ babies (true straight run this time ;-)) The two girls were born this spring, so somewhere around 6 months old. The first 3-4 days I kept them locked up with Fred. I was worried about them knowing this was home now. I think it was the fourth day I let them out, (Fred and the other roos were use to total free range all day and locked up at night) The first night with the girls out, we had a scare, I couldn't find one at night time. She showed up early morning, and from then on all three have gone to their coop at night before it gets dark.
It was August 5th when we got them. (do not know if they were laying eggs before we picked them up) We picked them out of a number of hens, the guy told us he was getting eggs for the past few weeks, but didn't know which girls were laying. After being totally disappointed with 9 roos out of a supposedly straight run pick. I went to this guy, and let my two boys (ages 3 and 4) pick out a girl each. One is way more curious/friendly than the other. Candi the curious one will come right up to us and take food from my hand, but moves away fast if I try to pet or pick her up. Sally the other is just starting to come close for food or treats, but will not take from hand yet.
I live on 118 acres in the middle of the woods. I have a big barn, their coop is an old feed room in the barn. It was built out of this really tiny holed wire, very thick and strong. We put up on long shelf (not covered) with hay in it, and two angled roost boards.

I generally let them out around 9 ish a.m. They all get on the roost bars at night, and in the morning when I go to let them out they are waiting by the door. I can tell someone has been sitting in the hay almost every night/or early morning??

This morning it was probably closer to 10 when I let them out, and there was an egg sitting on the hay!! Yea!!

It was about the same size as a store bought "large" egg.

sorry so long winded here... but after reading all this thread, now have questions??

should I let them stay out all day long? Their coop door is open but I have never seen them walk back in there until it gets close to dark.
Should I be checking my yard or bushes for eggs??
Do they only lay during the day time hours?

After being moved is two weeks an appropriate time frame to get use to new home/feed change and all that?

I feed them layer pellets and a small amount of cracked corn mixed into their pellets, and table scraps daily. They catch many bugs outside here!

Should I be doing anything different??

Thanks for the advice!!
Stacey

 

[Pjsmithsparky]

wow that's so great I would love to do the same as you but I can't have a roster and if the egg turns out to be a roster I will be in big trubble?

 

[blondiebee181]

This thread has been very interesting!! Thanks to all for sharing their experiences and knowledge.

We just got our very first egg today!!

I only have two hens that are old enough to lay eggs, and one roo.
I keep them locked up at night, they normally head to the coop just before it gets dark. Nothing can get in their coop!

I raised the roo (Fred) since he was a couple days old. The girls we just got a couple of weeks ago. We traded the other 8 roo's that we got as babies for the two girls and 30+ babies (true straight run this time ;-)) The two girls were born this spring, so somewhere around 6 months old. The first 3-4 days I kept them locked up with Fred. I was worried about them knowing this was home now. I think it was the fourth day I let them out, (Fred and the other roos were use to total free range all day and locked up at night) The first night with the girls out, we had a scare, I couldn't find one at night time. She showed up early morning, and from then on all three have gone to their coop at night before it gets dark.
It was August 5th when we got them. (do not know if they were laying eggs before we picked them up) We picked them out of a number of hens, the guy told us he was getting eggs for the past few weeks, but didn't know which girls were laying. After being totally disappointed with 9 roos out of a supposedly straight run pick. I went to this guy, and let my two boys (ages 3 and 4) pick out a girl each. One is way more curious/friendly than the other. Candi the curious one will come right up to us and take food from my hand, but moves away fast if I try to pet or pick her up. Sally the other is just starting to come close for food or treats, but will not take from hand yet.
I live on 118 acres in the middle of the woods. I have a big barn, their coop is an old feed room in the barn. It was built out of this really tiny holed wire, very thick and strong. We put up on long shelf (not covered) with hay in it, and two angled roost boards.

I generally let them out around 9 ish a.m. They all get on the roost bars at night, and in the morning when I go to let them out they are waiting by the door. I can tell someone has been sitting in the hay almost every night/or early morning??

This morning it was probably closer to 10 when I let them out, and there was an egg sitting on the hay!! Yea!!

It was about the same size as a store bought "large" egg.

sorry so long winded here... but after reading all this thread, now have questions??

should I let them stay out all day long? Their coop door is open but I have never seen them walk back in there until it gets close to dark.
Should I be checking my yard or bushes for eggs??
Do they only lay during the day time hours?

After being moved is two weeks an appropriate time frame to get use to new home/feed change and all that?

I feed them layer pellets and a small amount of cracked corn mixed into their pellets, and table scraps daily. They catch many bugs outside here!

Should I be doing anything different??

Thanks for the advice!!
Stacey

Chickens can free range all day if you like, they will love it and yes, they will put themselves away at night if the door is open. The only thing is, if you have a small space and garden beds that you dont want destroyed, the chickens should only be allowed out for an hour at a time. The reason is that chickens will first go for bugs and things they can easily get at. After they start to get bored they will start to scratch and peck at plants.

If your chickens are of laying age 16-28 ish weeks and you don't have pre-arranged nest boxes with dummy eggs in place, I would keep my eyes out for any other spots that a chicken might feel is a good, safe spot to lay.

I don't think chickens necessarily lay during the day, but in the winter when the days are shorter their laying generally slacks off, unless artificial light is provided.

2 weeks is a pretty good time frame but don't be suprised if it takes longer.

Layer pellets and table scraps usually have enough vitamins and calcium, but sometimes you may find your shells are thinner than you would like. In this case, free choice oyster shell should be provided. Make sure that you are not over-feeding corn as it is meant to be a treat, not very high in nutrients. Also make sure the hens have access to grit as they have no teeth for grinding food, and on hot days a lot of people recommend a little vinegar or sav-a-chick for the water. Sav-a-chick is like gatorade powder for chickens: extra minerals and electrolytes.

Sounds like you're doing pretty well! Good luck!

 

[michellekelly10]

I am very sorry for the mistake and i have corrected all my post. I originally meant to put tbls but cups came out instead.

 

[michellekelly10]

ummm...NO!!!

Please stop disseminating information unless you are certain you are correct. At least information that can kill someones flock

1 cup in one gallon is enough to lower the PH of the water significantly and could do serious harm. The correct dosage is 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of water. Although I agree that ACV is in fact good for chickens and can make the water acidic enough to help with the slime and other undesirable organisms.....it is a fairly strong acid with a PH of about 2.4
if you were to add too much, it WILL do damage.

Normally I would assume you made an innocent mistake, but I have looked at your other posts and see that you are trying to educate folks when you still have a lot to learn. I.E. someone asked if their young bird was a boy or girl and you answered cockerel because roosters have a u-shaped back. It would seem that you may not know a cockerel is a young rooster.

I saw this & failed to comment glad you did. I agree if you don't know the answer giving out false information is not what BYC is about & you could possibly have others harm their flock. People come here to get answer to better raise there birds & I'm one of these people & have come here for awhile & have learned a great deal here.

Incorrect information!!!

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar per gallon, not 1 cup!
Dear michellekelly10 false informatin can harm chickens. Please be very careful!

I am very sorry for the mistake and i have corrected all my post. I originally meant to put tbls but cups came out instead.

 

[3riverschick]

I have heard that if chickens eat a lot of fish products the eggs will get a fishy flavor...

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try here,
http://tinyurl.com/c2qenk8
best,
karen
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snippets for future research:
Bulletin: Issues 255-265
books.google.com
South Africa. Dept. of Agriculture and Forestry - 1945 - Snippet view
more than 6 per cent, of both moisture and fat may produce a fishy taste in eggs when the meal is fed as the only source of concentrated protein. Recent experiments indicate that the arginine requirements of a bird are probably as high as 1 ...
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Bulletin [Numbered Series]: Issues 260-286
books.google.com
South Africa. Dept. of Agriculture - 1945 - Snippet view
Fish meal containing more than 6 per ce of both moisture and fat may produce a fishy taste in eggs when the meal fed as the only source of concentrated protein. Recent experiments indicate that the arginine requirements of a bird probably as high as 1...
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Proceedings
books.google.com
International Food Industries Congress - 1964 - 226 pages - Snippet view
In order to prevent a " fishy " taste in eggs, bacon, etc. from animals fed on fish meal it is regarded as a matter of great importance that the fat content of the meal should be low, and fear of undesirable influences on flavour in many cases has ...