i have a mixed flock of chickens, which are just over four months old. i went out yesterday evening and found my very first egg
! i am super excited, it was one of my EE hens and the egg is a very pretty light teal color.
i am worried, however, because we have not had time to get our nesting boxes up yet (i was not expecting eggs until my hens were at least 6 months old, silly me!). this egg was in the sawdust on the coop floor, in which they are closed up at night. during the day they free range all over our pens (i live on a large ranch & the pens are pretty big). there are many, many places where these hens could be laying, if in fact there are more than this one hen who picked the floor of the coop to drop her first egg. we are putting the nesting boxes in this sunday, which is the absolute earliest time we can dedicate to getting this done.
can anyone give me some tips or advice on how to get the hens to lay in the new boxes once we get them up? i have purchased some ceramic eggs to put in there, but i didn't know if maybe i needed to lock the chickens in the coop for a few days? it is a very large coop, plenty of room for them to roam in & not beat eachother up, but i work during the day so they would be on their own until i get home in the evening if i did keep them locked in there.
thank you everyone...i am really worried that i've "ruined" my hens or something and could use any advice y'all have!
i am worried, however, because we have not had time to get our nesting boxes up yet (i was not expecting eggs until my hens were at least 6 months old, silly me!). this egg was in the sawdust on the coop floor, in which they are closed up at night. during the day they free range all over our pens (i live on a large ranch & the pens are pretty big). there are many, many places where these hens could be laying, if in fact there are more than this one hen who picked the floor of the coop to drop her first egg. we are putting the nesting boxes in this sunday, which is the absolute earliest time we can dedicate to getting this done.
can anyone give me some tips or advice on how to get the hens to lay in the new boxes once we get them up? i have purchased some ceramic eggs to put in there, but i didn't know if maybe i needed to lock the chickens in the coop for a few days? it is a very large coop, plenty of room for them to roam in & not beat eachother up, but i work during the day so they would be on their own until i get home in the evening if i did keep them locked in there.
thank you everyone...i am really worried that i've "ruined" my hens or something and could use any advice y'all have!