We are starting anew after a move to another state and now back to CA. We now have seven layers and a rooster. Five of the hens are Red Stars, one looks to be Americauna and the other is anyones guess but she lays green eggs so I'd suppose an EE. She is raven black. The rooster is also Americauna, so we were told. We got the last three at about five months of age and the others are older birds we were told were RIRs but obviously are not. We removed them from an extremely over crowded situation and they all were in rough shape, feather wise, and had their upper bills cropped. We've had the birds for a couple of months now and all are laying well while the Red Stars are thriving, gaining weight and their combs and wattles have reddened up considerably. Also, something I wasn't aware could occur is, their upper bills are growing back. We have them free ranging.
Anyway, we had the young birds for a month before getting the Red Stars and the Americauna started laying first. The EE started a couple of weeks later but only layed for a couple of days and then nothing until about ten days ago. Now she's pretty regular.
The Americauna will no longer lay in the nesting boxes in the coop. She stopped that shortly after we got the other birds. She started laying on the back patio concrete next to the house and when I tossed some boxes out one afternoon that we'd unpacked, figuring I'd haul them to the recycling bin the next morning, she appropriated one box for her nest. I let it go another day and, sure enough, she used it again the next day so I folded in the flaps, cut one down to ease getting in but still holding bedding and tossed in some shredded paper. She's been using that box exclusively and will stay in there for hours. A number of the other hens now use that box and wait in line until they just must lay and then they'll cram in there too, as many as three at one time. The Americauna will growl at you if you approach and reach in to check for eggs and she growls at the other birds when they also intrude. We had lots of chickens when I was growing up and I'd never heard a chicken growl before though I've been pecked countless times while gathering eggs.
So, we have a nice coop with plenty of nesting boxes and five of the seven birds use a cardboard box on the back patio.
Anyway, we had the young birds for a month before getting the Red Stars and the Americauna started laying first. The EE started a couple of weeks later but only layed for a couple of days and then nothing until about ten days ago. Now she's pretty regular.
The Americauna will no longer lay in the nesting boxes in the coop. She stopped that shortly after we got the other birds. She started laying on the back patio concrete next to the house and when I tossed some boxes out one afternoon that we'd unpacked, figuring I'd haul them to the recycling bin the next morning, she appropriated one box for her nest. I let it go another day and, sure enough, she used it again the next day so I folded in the flaps, cut one down to ease getting in but still holding bedding and tossed in some shredded paper. She's been using that box exclusively and will stay in there for hours. A number of the other hens now use that box and wait in line until they just must lay and then they'll cram in there too, as many as three at one time. The Americauna will growl at you if you approach and reach in to check for eggs and she growls at the other birds when they also intrude. We had lots of chickens when I was growing up and I'd never heard a chicken growl before though I've been pecked countless times while gathering eggs.
So, we have a nice coop with plenty of nesting boxes and five of the seven birds use a cardboard box on the back patio.
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