Nevadans?

[JakesMama]

ut-oh..RUBBER EGGS!!!!   We have four girls approx 18 weeks old. The Barred Rock and Red Sex link have been each laying every other day for the last 10 days. They stated out beautiful hard shelled brown eggs. (The Easter Egger and Buff Orpington haven't started yet, I don't think???) Someone has laid a rubber egg twice now. and not where they usually lay their eggs, it's almost like they just fell out while they were walking around.  I cannot figure out who it is but I think it's one of the two that have already started laying regular nice hard shelled eggs. Could the heat be stressing them and causing this? They free range the backyard during the day but unfortunately its mostly rock so they don't have access to much in for for of greenery out there. I feed them Bar Ale feed from 1 Stop along with some left overn Scratch n Peck starter feed I got at the co-op (it's NOT scratch, it's a balanced no gmo, organic soy free whole food) The ONLY thing I've been doing differently is giving them more goodies, i.e.  apples, watermelon, lettuce, and other fruit I can freeze to help cool them on these hot days. Could the addition of fruits cause rubber eggs because they're not eating as much of the Bar Ale pellets? In addition they get free feed oyster shell and grit, which they love! Oh I almost forgot, they also get snacks of sprouted shelled sunflower seeds and dried meal worms.
I'm hoping it's just the heat or them getting used to their new talent and not something I'm doing wrong 

On the hottest of days, I give my girls electrolytes in their water. I use Rooster Booster brand with added vitamins and lactobacillus. I've also switched to a 20% feed, I notice a real difference in egg quality and their feathers. My older girls' feathers look horrid from a bad feed so I can't wait until they molt and grow new ones, but starting my new girls with this new feed has worked wonders.
My girls HATE getting wet, but they love when I keep an area in the shade moist. They sit and watch me spray it with hose then run like crazy to dig in the mud. Once the mud dries a bit, they spend a couple hours dust bathing in the "moist dirt", then they just sit in their holes and fall asleep, LOL!!

 

[lsmith]

Give them less fruit, sunflower seeds, and dried meal worms. All of the snack foods are chicken ice cream and cake and should be fed very sparingly. Use a fan or possibly put some ice in their waterer is you need to cool them. Heat will stress them and one problem with heat is that they tend to eat less, and that means that they are having to rob their little biddy bodies to make those eggs. If they are new to laying, you can expect to find the occasional rubber egg outside of where they normally nest. Do you know how to inspect their rumps to see if they are laying yet or not? If you do, check and see if one of your other girls has started to lay - it seems that they aren't too sure of what is happening to them when they first start to lay, so one will find rubber eggs and even regular eggs under the roosts and so on.

One of my pullets is doing the submissive squat and I'm wondering when she will lay. I'm hoping she hasn't already laid somewhere sneaky and I can't find it. Could you explain how to check her rump? Thanks

 

[The Yakima Kid]

One of my pullets is doing the submissive squat and I'm wondering when she will lay. I'm hoping she hasn't already laid somewhere sneaky and I can't find it. Could you explain how to check her rump? Thanks

Look at her vent. If it is small and shrunken and sort of a puckered circular shape, she isn't in lay. If it is moist, larger, and sort of resembles an upside down smile, she is either laying or is very close to laying.

To keep pullets from laying all over the back 4/10ths, keep them confined in their yard; give them nest boxes, and put golf balls or nest eggs (little false eggs) in the nest boxes. You can let them out to roam once they learn goo nesting habits. It is also a good way to see how close to lay they are; if they are close to laying, they will check out the next boxes, and sometimes rearrange things and sort of hum from time to time.

 

[lsmith]

Look at her vent. If it is small and shrunken and sort of a puckered circular shape, she isn't in lay. If it is moist, larger, and sort of resembles an upside down smile, she is either laying or is very close to laying.

To keep pullets from laying all over the back 4/10ths, keep them confined in their yard; give them nest boxes, and put golf balls or nest eggs (little false eggs) in the nest boxes. You can let them out to roam once they learn goo nesting habits. It is also a good way to see how close to lay they are; if they are close to laying, they will check out the next boxes, and sometimes rearrange things and sort of hum from time to time.

Thanks! I checked all of my ladies this morning, even though only one has the really red waddles/comb and is squatting. They all have more of an upside down smile and not a puckered hole, but only my squatter's seems to be almost swollen and moist. I have another who looks like she will be ready in a few weeks. Thanks again for the awesome info!! I always check them for mites and whatnot but didn't think to check for anything related to egg production. These are my first chicks so I'm excited for them to lay.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Thanks! I checked all of my ladies this morning, even though only one has the really red waddles/comb and is squatting. They all have more of an upside down smile and not a puckered hole, but only my squatter's seems to be almost swollen and moist. I have another who looks like she will be ready in a few weeks. Thanks again for the awesome info!! I always check them for mites and whatnot but didn't think to check for anything related to egg production. These are my first chicks so I'm excited for them to lay.

Swollen and moist is good - that means she is darn close. Remember to keep them penned in the run with nest boxes with golf balls or nest eggs in them until they establish good laying habits. Once they are acclimated to using the nest boxes, they keep using them.

 

[lsmith]

Swollen and moist is good - that means she is darn close. Remember to keep them penned in the run with nest boxes with golf balls or nest eggs in them until they establish good laying habits. Once they are acclimated to using the nest boxes, they keep using them.

Yay! Do I need to keep them all penned or just her?

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Yay! Do I need to keep them all penned or just her?

The basic drill is that as pullets approach the point of lay you keep them all penned up until they have established good laying habits.

 

[kmollyhughes]

Yay! Do I need to keep them all penned or just her?

Once a couple girls have good habits the others will catch on. I have a huge flock that free ranges and we never have issues with the new layers laying where they shouldn't. They see and smell where the other girls lay and know where their egg songs are coming from.

 

[kmollyhughes]

@chickee First OE has started laying. Woot woot!

 

[chickee]

@chickee First OE has started laying. Woot woot!

Very nice!

Looks so pretty with the other eggs.