Maine

[ashandvine]

Ashandvine, how old are your Welsummers? Mine are about 8 months, and still no eggs. None from any of my new hens yet (at least, I don't think so.) THey are green egg layers, so I would be seeing green or blue eggs...none yet. My Marans aren't laying yet either - though I did get a very long, darker egg yesterday - perhaps they're starting? The wait is KILLING me! It is irritating.

I do not have Wellies. Mainechick does I believe. They also are not green egg layers. Did you mean your other hens are OE? Yes, weirdo and small eggs are often a sign that the ovaducts are firing and the system is working out the kinks. Good luck. I still don't have an OE... but there is someone rather nice in this thread you offered me eggs last year and I hope I can get a few again. I had dismal hatches. It was the bator and me. We didn't get along but we went to therapy and now we are fine so I should get some babies. And if not... I have a few Muscovies who might hatch them.

 

[yankeehill]

Yes, my other hens. I have four other hens that are blue egg layers. One is a year old, and she laid well for a while, but I guess they went through a molt and she hasn't resumed laying yet.

Do muscovy lay well? I do think that come spring we'll add more ducks. Will the ducks tear up the garden much? My ducks seem to lay better than the hens right now. I do hope this picks up. The good thing is that they are all freeranged, so they eat very little feed. I think between my 13 hens, 5 ducks, and 4 geese, we might go through a bag of feed over two weeks. Of course, they get lots of scraps, and are all over the farm picking whatever they can find to eat.

 

[hoppy]

Does anyone know if there will be a swap in Bangor on Saturday? Augusta is a bit of a drive for me.

hoppy, how old are your chicks?

 

[buckabucka]

Originally posted by ashandvine: "I still don't have an OE... but there is someone rather nice in this thread you offered me eggs last year and I hope I can get a few again."

I'm kind of nice sometimes.... Could this be me?
I will certainly be able to share eggs come spring.

 

[buckabucka]

Success!!! After a week of waiting, a chicken was finally brave enough to lay an egg in the teepee nest box. I had to put all the wooden eggs in there for them to get the message, but the small lighter colored egg is a real one:

 

[lazy gardener]

How sweet!

 

[dowgirl71]

I am so puzzled! I gave away a RIR who I was almost positive was a cockerel. I even heard real "crowing" coming from my coop on several occasions. The day his new owners were coming to get him, my son came running up to the house and claimed that this chicken had laid an egg. But it couldn't have been, because it was full sized and I got my usual 3 eggs, instead of 4. So, I figured that he must have just gone in and sat on an already laid egg. Does that happen? There also hasn't been anymore crowing, since this one has been gone. He hasn't crowed at all at his new home and I just talked with his new owner, who says this chicken is laying eggs. I just don't know.

 

[buckabucka]

I am so puzzled!  I gave away a RIR who I was almost positive was a cockerel.  I even heard real "crowing" coming from my coop on several occasions.  The day his new owners were coming to get him, my son came running up to the house and claimed that this chicken had laid an egg.  But it couldn't have been, because it was full sized and I got my usual 3 eggs, instead of 4.  So, I figured that he must have just gone in and sat on an already laid egg.  Does that happen?  There also hasn't been anymore crowing, since this one has been gone.  He hasn't crowed at  all at his new home and I just talked with his new owner, who says this chicken is laying eggs.  I just don't know.

It sounds like it must have been a pullet. A cockerel will get in the nest box and show the girls where to lay sometimes, and I've heard of hens on top of the pecking order trying to crow. If you got three eggs, one of the usual girls could have been taking a day off. Is the new owner positive this chicken laid an egg? I'm sure time will tell!

 

[yankeehill]

Sounds like a pullet to me! I had a hen that would crow once.

 

[MKandtheforce]

I always thought the flame points were pretty! All of mine were Sealpoints--2 were Siamese/Himalyans. My 3 were Mom, Dad & Son (Szechuan, Wonton & Teriyaki). Szech & Won lived to be 19 years old. I couldn't sit or lay on the couch without one or all of them with me. Teriyaki was 23 pounds and slept on my belly when I was pregnant with my son. That cat loved my son even before he was born! He would cry at the baby's bedroom door if it was closed.

I just love how colorful flamepoints are! I like chocolate points, too. Oh goodness, a 23 pound cat?? I would have been worried it would have squashed your son. That's so sweet that they were close though. That's so, so adorable. I hope that when I have kids, they'll bond similarly with whatever pets I might have at the time.