- Sep 16, 2008
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Hi Everyone,
I'm a new chicken owner of 6 hens and am loving it. I never knew they had such personalities! I have 2 light brahmas and 2 arucanas that are at 5 months and are starting to lay. One of the arucanas who I thought had not started laying actually has been laying outside the nesting boxes I have provided for them while a coop is being built. Now, the other three actually take turns to use one box and I can usually collect 3 eggs a day. I finally found this problem hen's hiding spot only to find her sitting on 15 green eggs. Not knowing how old they were, I threw them all out while she was sitting on them. Now that I have disturbed her, I have no idea where she is now laying. Should I have left her alone? Was I wrong? Could she have stopped laying because of what I did? I have searched high and low around my 5 acres and cannot find anything. I would think she would have found another place close to the other one where it is safe but I've found nothing. Why cant she just follow like the rest of them. I have even left the eggs in for a day so she'd be sure to see them but no luck. I keep threatening to eat her!!!!Will she be forced to lay if I keep her cooped up for the day? Their housing right now is just a tack room in the barn with food, water, and two laying boxes on the ground so she'd be pretty miserable not going out for a whole day...not to mention not being able to frolick outside and eat bugs and steal cat food from my cat! Any advice or help would be appreciated only because I am losing a green egg a day and probably feeding a lot of unwanted predators. Thank you all for your replies.
MaryAnn
I'm a new chicken owner of 6 hens and am loving it. I never knew they had such personalities! I have 2 light brahmas and 2 arucanas that are at 5 months and are starting to lay. One of the arucanas who I thought had not started laying actually has been laying outside the nesting boxes I have provided for them while a coop is being built. Now, the other three actually take turns to use one box and I can usually collect 3 eggs a day. I finally found this problem hen's hiding spot only to find her sitting on 15 green eggs. Not knowing how old they were, I threw them all out while she was sitting on them. Now that I have disturbed her, I have no idea where she is now laying. Should I have left her alone? Was I wrong? Could she have stopped laying because of what I did? I have searched high and low around my 5 acres and cannot find anything. I would think she would have found another place close to the other one where it is safe but I've found nothing. Why cant she just follow like the rest of them. I have even left the eggs in for a day so she'd be sure to see them but no luck. I keep threatening to eat her!!!!Will she be forced to lay if I keep her cooped up for the day? Their housing right now is just a tack room in the barn with food, water, and two laying boxes on the ground so she'd be pretty miserable not going out for a whole day...not to mention not being able to frolick outside and eat bugs and steal cat food from my cat! Any advice or help would be appreciated only because I am losing a green egg a day and probably feeding a lot of unwanted predators. Thank you all for your replies.
MaryAnn
