Member of the First Egg Club!

[BonnieBlue]

View attachment 3709203We also got our every first egg today! Our chickids are 23 weeks old; 4 EE, 3 BO, 2 BA, 2 Dominiques. We thanked the EEs for the egg and for laying it in the nesting box
Agreed - what a journey. The anticipation, excitement, the fundamental enrichment these chickids bring to our lives...I just love these girls.

Congratulations! that's a beauty of an egg! I hope your girls give you lots of eggs, and lots of enjoyment!

 

[Montymoo]

I got my first one today!!!!! 22-24 week golden cuckoo Marans. 3 days after she started submissive squatting.
Question- there’s a little blood on the egg and in the nest box is this normal? Her vent had a little drying blood on it too

 

[BonnieBlue]

I got my first one today!!!!! 22-24 week golden cuckoo Marans. 3 days after she started submissive squatting.
Question- there’s a little blood on the egg and in the nest box is this normal? Her vent had a little drying blood on it tooView attachment 3710253

That is a lovely speckle! Congratulations on the first egg from your girl.

 

[crystalsc]

We got our first egg today!
I have 4 barred rock pullets. They are 23 weeks old. I’m a first time chick mom so this has all been very exciting! I didn’t think we’d get any eggs until spring but though the nights have been getting cold, our days have been warm (50s-60s) and sunny. Two of the girls have been squatting when petted and getting quite red in the ears so I figured their hormones were amped up.
But this morning, Tomoe wouldn’t follow her sisters around the yard. I let my girls free range and I kept hearing her on the front porch. I went outside and noticed she was just agitated and kept wanting to climb on me so I wondered. I led her to the coop and she immediately started trying to nest in corners of the coop. My nest boxes are about 15” off the ground and she had no interest in going in it so I was like, fine let’s do this on the floor. I sat down on the floor of the coop and was talking her through it but she seemed so agitated about finding the right spot. I took one of the fake eggs from the nesting box and placed it into a corner near me and she looked at it and then rolled it under herself and began nesting. She squirmed for awhile and finally settled down, pulling nesting towards herself. She let me stroke her head and talk to her as she had contractions. Finally, she began pushing. She stood in a squat and slightly spread her wings. She got very still and quiet and focused. And then I spied the egg -I started crying! LOL I was so proud of her. I didn’t expect to feel emotional but I’ve grown very attached and fond of them. After a few minutes of just relaxing and composing herself, I picked up the egg and we both left the coop. She went straight to the run and got herself a well-earned drink. I went inside and gazed in awe at the egg. I’ve seen them all my life in cartons from the store, but I’ve never seen an egg as beautiful as this one.

 

[BonnieBlue]

We got our first egg today!
I have 4 barred rock pullets. They are 23 weeks old. I’m a first time chick mom so this has all been very exciting! I didn’t think we’d get any eggs until spring but though the nights have been getting cold, our days have been warm (50s-60s) and sunny. Two of the girls have been squatting when petted and getting quite red in the ears so I figured their hormones were amped up.
But this morning, Tomoe wouldn’t follow her sisters around the yard. I let my girls free range and I kept hearing her on the front porch. I went outside and noticed she was just agitated and kept wanting to climb on me so I wondered. I led her to the coop and she immediately started trying to nest in corners of the coop. My nest boxes are about 15” off the ground and she had no interest in going in it so I was like, fine let’s do this on the floor. I sat down on the floor of the coop and was talking her through it but she seemed so agitated about finding the right spot. I took one of the fake eggs from the nesting box and placed it into a corner near me and she looked at it and then rolled it under herself and began nesting. She squirmed for awhile and finally settled down, pulling nesting towards herself. She let me stroke her head and talk to her as she had contractions. Finally, she began pushing. She stood in a squat and slightly spread her wings. She got very still and quiet and focused. And then I spied the egg -I started crying! LOL I was so proud of her. I didn’t expect to feel emotional but I’ve grown very attached and fond of them. After a few minutes of just relaxing and composing herself, I picked up the egg and we both left the coop. She went straight to the run and got herself a well-earned drink. I went inside and gazed in awe at the egg. I’ve seen them all my life in cartons from the store, but I’ve never seen an egg as beautiful as this one.

Congratulations on the first egg.

It is funny how different they can be about laying.

Sassafras may pace a lot, but is very quiet about it, and just does her thing. Blossom laid her first egg yesterday, and was a complete drama queen about it. Loud and cranky! I hope the other three are more like Sassy when they start laying! lol

 

[crystalsc]

Congratulations on the first egg.

It is funny how different they can be about laying.

Sassafras may pace a lot, but is very quiet about it, and just does her thing. Blossom laid her first egg yesterday, and was a complete drama queen about it. Loud and cranky! I hope the other three are more like Sassy when they start laying! lol

Just like women, i suppose. Every birthing story is different.

 

[RedwoodCoastChick]

She let me stroke her head and talk to her as she had contractions. Finally, she began pushing. She stood in a squat and slightly spread her wings. She got very still and quiet and focused. And then I spied the egg -I started crying! LOL I was so proud of her.

Crystal, how marvelous that you were with her through her whole "first egg" event, and she obviously wanted you to be close! So fascinating and exciting, what a special thing. Love this so much!

 

[crystalsc]

Crystal, how marvelous that you were with her through her whole "first egg" event, and she obviously wanted you to be close! So fascinating and exciting, what a special thing. Love this so much!

Thank you for the kind words. I admit, I’ve even felt more connected to her since. Today i sat in the coop with them for about an hour because it’s pouring rain and she curled up in my arms and snoozed. Makes me so happy.

We are also up to 4 eggs now. I suspect a 2nd girl may be laying but between the holiday and the weather, I haven’t witnessed it so I can’t be sure. But this lady has an enlarged comb (she’s actually the biggest of the 4 and has by far the largest the comb) and she’s been squatting a lot. This morning when I sat with them, she wasn’t pacing as much as my other girl but she was very vocal and kept poking her head into the nesting box.

FYI, I had to put my nesting boxes on the floor and though I had the Eaton nesting pads in there I had to scoop hemp in there too. They definitely want to scratch in the nest box. Kind of a pain to have to reach into the nest boxes on the floor but better than stepping on the eggs.

This is Boudicca, the 2nd gal with the big comb.

 

[RedwoodCoastChick]

Boudicca looks so much like my big sweet girl Xena! Congrats on all the eggs, it's so exciting when they first start to lay (plus the guessing game of "Whose egg is this?" when they lay eggs of similar color). So glad you're having such good, fun bonding with your girls...other folks may not understand how sweet & special it feels, but chicken people do!