Xerocles
Songster
Does anybody ( besides me, now) know how long it takes your chicken to decide to actually lay an egg? I have six EEs, about 22 weeks old. 1 started laying 3 days ago. The other five are still Moochers. But the one is now 3 for 3. (Yippee! Eggs!) I knew she was laying afternoons, but wanted some idea of times so I could figure when she would "hold it in" and convert to mornings. So today I kept an extra close eye on her. Just before 4:00 I noticed an extra urgency in her step. So I plopped down in the swing to watch (because I am retired and can use my time for silly things like this. THAT'S why). I left the main door of the coop open so I could see inside. First egg had been laid on the open floor of the coop. Second egg in a nest box. So I watched. None of my chickens EVER go inside the coop before roost time, before she started laying. So it was in the coop, out of the coop, in the coop, out of the coop for about 15 minutes. Then she went UNDER the nest boxes about four times, scratching out a couple good nest sites. Finally, into the nest box. Out, then in, then out, then in. Eventually she settled down, spent 20 minutes in the nest box. Popped out like nothing happened, and started scratching for food. I immediately went out to investigate and found my third small WARM blue green egg. From 4:00 until 5:15. Sure I know that will change when she gets more experience. Hop in, pop a squat, and back to scratching. But for now, while we're both new to this, it was fascinating to watch her decide what she wanted to do!