Literal Easter Egg Hunt

[Angle1110]

My EE started laying a little over a week ago (September 21). I've gotten 6 eggs from her since, but nothing the last 3 days. What are the chances she's just taking a break because the evening temps have been cooler (30s-40s) and not that she's nested somewhere else? They have about 3 1/2 acres to free range on and so far I've had no luck finding a clutch. I'm thinking of keeping all of the chickens in the coop tomorrow until noon just to see.

 

[KreetchaKeepa]

I'm not sure about the temp part, but I keep my girls in the run/coop until I'm satisfied with the amount of eggs laid for the day. Once that occurs, I let them free range the rest of the day. It's too densely wooded here to hunt for eggs and I don't want any extra predator pressures because eggs are all over the place.

 

[Angle1110]

I'm not sure about the temp part, but I keep my girls in the run/coop until I'm satisfied with the amount of eggs laid for the day. Once that occurs, I let them free range the rest of the day. It's too densely wooded here to hunt for eggs and I don't want any extra predator pressures because eggs are all over the place.

Good thinking. I do have a dog who is good about keeping predators away, but I definitely don't want to attract any extras.

 

[KreetchaKeepa]

I only have nocturnal predators thus far; my dog is of no help then. She's inside with us. I've considered getting a dog that can be out 24/7, but have too much on my plate right now to train another dog. Maybe someday!

 

[Angle1110]

I only have nocturnal predators thus far; my dog is of no help then. She's inside with us. I've considered getting a dog that can be out 24/7, but have too much on my plate right now to train another dog. Maybe someday!

I kept her in the coop today until 10am. Once I opened the door she made a beeline for her nest. It's in a brush pile. I would have never found it on my own. My husband and I watched her lay an egg, then we collected all three eggs and plan to destroy her nesting spot later today when we're home.

 

[Daniellebell1]

As I understand it, it's not so much the temperature as the light exposure. Hens do tend to lay less (or sometimes stop altogether) in colder weather because colder weather usually coincides with shorter days. They also can pause in laying if there's a major stressor, and a cold snap can be a definite stressor! Buuuut Easter Eggers tend to be pretty cold-hardy because their combs are so leetle.
So really, it could go either way? I'd love to know what you find out by keeping them in the coop a little longer.
I'm definitely having the free-range-egg-hunt problem. My ladies are almost 3 years old, and for the last year or so they've been truly truly "free range." Like...they HATE their coop. They are insulted by the coop. They will fight going into the coop and hide from me until I give up trying. They sleep in my fig tree or underneath the house at night, and during the daytime they roam the neighborhood terrorizing the feral cats and weeding my neighbors' gardens. (Fortunately my neighbors find them charming. Otherwise I'd have to build a taller fence.) For months they have been laying in the monkey grass by my front porch, but all of a sudden they have moved their nesting spot. It must be in a neighbor's yard because I am having no luck locating it. Ah, the mysteries of chicken-having.

 

[Daniellebell1]

Ah! You solved the mystery!

 

[KreetchaKeepa]

I kept her in the coop today until 10am. Once I opened the door she made a beeline for her nest. It's in a brush pile. I would have never found it on my own. My husband and I watched her lay an egg, then we collected all three eggs and plan to destroy her nesting spot later today when we're home.

Do you have any fake eggs in your nest boxes?

 

[Angle1110]

Do you have any fake eggs in your nest boxes?

Yes. The day I locked them in they rolled them out of the nests and pooped on them and in the nests. I have the feeling they weren't happy with me . We've decided to make a few nesting boxes to put around our place in case they want to lay outside of the coop and so we are able to better locate eggs. We'll see how it goes.

 

[KreetchaKeepa]

Yes. The day I locked them in they rolled them out of the nests and pooped on them and in the nests. I have the feeling they weren't happy with me . We've decided to make a few nesting boxes to put around our place in case they want to lay outside of the coop and so we are able to better locate eggs. We'll see how it goes.

You might want to clean up those fake eggs and put them where you'd like your girls to lay. Once mine started laying, I thought I could remove the fake eggs. Next thing I know, some were laying in the run. I put the fake eggs back, as recommended to me here at BYC, and haven't had an egg "out of place" since.