My pullet escaped to another chicken coop to lay her 1st egg...

[Mom2Cool]

Ok so I have 2 & really 3 different coops for my chickens. I have the main coop with Buff Orpingtons & 1 Black Austrolorp in it who are all about a yr. old now. off of that coop is an open enclosure/chicken run & in that is the smaller coop (really a rabbit hutch) that I've been using for 1st a broody hen & now her chicks she's left behind in that coop. And of course all of the hens who had not been broody have suddenly decided that laying their eggs in that rabbit hutch is "special" & something they are going to do.... So anyway last winter I'd gotten another coop to put in the garden & I have a group of 9 Speckled Sussex (6 are roos of course) + 2 new Buff Orpingtons (pullets) who are all about 19 weeks old in the garden area.

Anyway I'm not sure if it's just 1 (I think it is) but I've got a Speckled Sussex pullet that has been escaping daily & last weekend she'd gotten locked out at night when my son didn't realize she was out of the area & the coop at lock up time. But today she was out & roaming the yard & she was hanging around the coop that houses the BO's at night. the enclosure I open up during the day for the BO's to free range the yard. But 1 of the BO's sees this SS & started like having a fit & chasing the SS around & the Roo kind of looked like he saw her as a invading attacker too & so I rushed outside to put her back in the garden area. I come back in the house & about 1/2 hour later that SS pullet is out there again.... but this time 1 of the BO hens started having a squacking fit & the Roo comes running across the yard but I noticed as he reached the SS hen he slowed down a bit & the BO just sort of wandered off & of course my roo was like playing a bit of tag with this new little girl around the coop. My Roo is this sweet sweet guy who takes care of hens, pullets & even cares for chicks.... So this SS pullet was just like loving being around this "different kind of guy" & eating from the area on the other side of the fence (you know the grasss there is greener) & so I just let it all slide till I *finished my shower this time* to go out & put her back in the garden..... But later I asked hubby if he'd do a 2nd egg check for me because I had not done one since morning & in the rabbit hutch along with 2 reg. sized eggs was a real small pullet egg.....

I cannot believe this little pullet escaped her own coop & garden area to come & lay her egg in the area with hens forgien to her??? escaping her area to nosy around is one thing but I would think she'd be scared chicklets to be sitting long enough to lay an egg in a coop with hens that don't know her??? I was just really taken aback with this. I've been checking the coop she & the other 4 hens use for about a week on & off to see if anyone was laying any eggs. And so I guess this little girl figured to lay an egg she's got to join up with the big girls??? LOL Talk about having to try to fit in with a new click... With the idea of this girl taking her cue from the other hens & where they lay their eggs I took the eggs from that coop & put 2 into the nesting boxes of the coop she comes from hoping she'll get the idea she's allowed to lay an egg right there... LOL Chickens surely do keep things lively don't they???

And so here is a pic of our first egg from our Speckled Sussex pullets.

 

[valkerri]

Such a cute story. I love your insights!

 

[Mom2Cool]

aww thank you. I just find the chickens all so commical & funny. I don't know if it's the breed of chickens I've got or what but it's just too funny to see them make preferences & "who hangs with whom" LOL We've actually been in the middle of deciding which Speckled Sussex roo stays & which ones are going & so maybe that will make a difference for her because they are pretty roudy now but if I didn't know better my Orpington roo Mr. Standoffish (who is the main yard established roo) came to the gate looking for her this am.... I swear he is such a sweet rooster and almost a calming force at times.

Back on the egg laying topic, I think I'm going to have to get some of those wooden eggs & put them in the boxes. I put real eggs in there yesterday hoping that the wandering pullet will realize she does indeed have several boxes right there, but I'll only be able to leave them there so long in this heat.