Need help! Who is laying these eggs? CX or ?

[gritsar]

In my juvenile coop I have - 6 Cornish X pullets, somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 weeks old. All very red in the face and comb for weeks now.

Also, 3 turken pullets (one is red in the comb)
3 salmon faverolles pullets (one with a slightly red comb)
2 speckled sussex pullets (not really red combed, more like bright pink)
2 easter egger pullets (not counting them as suspects)
and 2 silkies (also not among the suspects).
All the layer chicks turned 18 weeks old as of this past Wed., the 13th.

On the 13th I got one small beige egg, on the floor of the coop, not in the nestbox.
Today I got 2 small beige eggs, on the floor. One was broken, probably from a big ol' CX stepping on it.

I'm frustrated that these eggs are nowhere near the nestboxes.

If it's the CXs that laid these eggs, I can kinda understand them not being in the nestbox. Although the nestboxes are large, CX's are pretty dumb and clumsy. They make my other chickens look like einsteins. However, I was under the impression that CXs lay large-r eggs from the start.

If it's from one of my layer chicks, I need to work on training them to the nestboxes. The boxes already have golf balls in them. On the 13th, I put that first egg I found on the floor in the nestbox and left it there until yesterday evening. I finally took it out because I didn't want it to spoil.

The only one singing the eggsong is my CX rooster, so I can't narrow down a suspect.

Who do you think laid these eggs?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Well I only know of two ways to tell for sure.


The first is "easy" - you have to sit in the coop and watch

The second is "rude" - fluff up their hinnies and check for a soft, moist vent

Often my new layers will drop an egg where-ever they happen to be - floor, on the roost, even sleeping on top of a kennel, once even walking out the coop door and PLOP there is was - pullet turned and looked, then kept going. I think they then watch my seasoned layers to see what is going on.

18 weeks is just so-o-o young to me. Your little girls are growing up. If you do not have to eat them, I mark them with an X and put them in the nest box.

 

[gritsar]

Well I guess there will be some rudeness going on this afternoon.

I tried to narrow down the suspects by egg color, but really any of them - CX, SF, NN or SS - could lay this beige, sorta creamy color egg.

The unbroken egg from this morning is in the nestbox now. Hoping the guilty parties will get the idea.

Do you think I can definitely rule out the cornish Xs?

 

[gritsar]

Well I just nearly broke my neck getting out to the coop because I heard the roo (& someone else) singing the egg song, but didn't catch anyone in the act.

What I did see was one of the CXs behind the nestboxes, squirming like she's about to lay an egg. If she does, I'll be able to rule them in or out as my small beige egg layers.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Goodness

Now you will have to watch and make sure she does not get stuck behind the boxes.

I don't have and never have had Cx so do not know much about them - experience wise - but think they lay (those lucky birds who live long enough) a white-ish egg - but I have no idea (yet

).




(ok, just re-read my post and was not laughing at you almost breaking your neck, BUT at the girl behind the box)

 

[gritsar]

Oh I'm laughing and screaming at the same time

I've got eggs popping up everywhere, but when I rush out because I hear the egg song everyone freezes and stops singing as soon as they see me. They give me this look like...we weren't doing anything.

 

[Kat's Silly Chickens]

I thought our chicks were the only 1's pulling that 'what we weren't doing anything' look...

they think they are so not caught.

We caught them tho...

 

[gritsar]

Kat's Silly Chickens :

I thought our chicks were the only 1's pulling that 'what we weren't doing anything' look...

they think they are so not caught.

We caught them tho...

I'm going to keep persevere until I catch someone.

My big girls have been good girls since they started laying more than two years ago. They've always used the nestboxes. They will come running back to the coop from acres away to get there in time. Last spring they did enjoying playing games with me. They'd be out in the woods, and suddenly start singing the egg song (minus the egg) just to get me running out there and then....we fooled ya.