New to the egglaying....

[luvinmychickens]

Hi-

This is our first time with chickens... So I have quesions about the egglaying..

One of my chickens laid an egg today. I don't know what time it was. When I saw it, it was in the middle of the coop floor. Could she have laid it while she was on the roost? The shell was cracked, but wasn't opened (like, the yolk wasn't exposed). When will that egg go bad? All we did was put it in a bowl.

How do I get them to lay in the nesting box? I need a lot of information on the whole egglaying thing.


Thanks!

 

[kidcody]

Have you put fake eggs in the nesting box yet ? Even golf balls work!

 

[harri]

Hi , Mine layed their first egg yesterday! Same thing, it was on the floor and todays egg was on floor also.
I am interested in the answers you will get.
I have read others say to put a plastic egg or a small ball in the nesting box to encourage them .

 

[luvinmychickens]

Ok, I will put a plastic egg in each nesting box.


Oh, And I don't think that I said that they are 4 months old. I think it was my GB...

 

[The Chickeneer]

You should probably eat the egg today or tomoro, before it goes bad. To make the hens lay in the nest boxes, you should put one egg in each one of them, I t could be a store bought egg, easter egg, golf ball ,or anything similar, because hens like to lay where other hens lay. If you free range them keep them cooped up for about five days so they will have no choice but to lay in the nest boxes. Make sure the nest boxes are in an out of the way place in the coop in some sort of private spot. I put them on the against the front wall of the coop facing the back door, so when I walk in the front door, they can't see me, and I cant see them, which keeps it more private for the hen. Also make sure they eat egg laying mash. Good luck

 

[Yay Chicks!]

When I have a cracked egg, I usually hard boil it and feed it back to the chickens. But perhaps that's just me.
Sometimes they will get caught by surprise and lay from the roost when new to it, along with sometimes laying odd eggs as well. I put golfballs in the nest box as well.

 

[luvinmychickens]

Ok, I have three nesting boxes (4 chickens), and put an easter egg in two of them. Ill keep you posted. Ill also post pics of the coop. Its hard to explain of what it looks like..

 

[jen5680]

When new birds first start laying they seem to jsut plop them out were ever they are at the time lol...
They will catch on to the nest box soon enough but in the mean time just look around for them on the floor.
I personally wouldn't eat a egg that has been cracked but????

 

[CluckCluck18]

I put 2 in each nest box and it really works.Even now that they are older, I leave them in. They push them in with the real eggs to make a bigger clutch. Too cute. Don't worry too much, they are still young and they'll get the hang of it.

 

[luvinmychickens]

Quote:
We aren't going to eat it.... If we wanted to, it would be to small. So, don't worry