Our first chicken egg, ever! (Video)

[IkeO]

OMG i just got my first egg ever! I'm very proud/happy!

I had been filming it every morning for about 3 days. One of my chickens started 'squatting' so I figured I would try to capture our first egg on film!

People weren't kidding when they say once they start doing the chicken squatting that an egg is coming. About 6 days after our chicken 'Waffles' started squatting she laid her first egg! This morning she also looked frantic like she wanted to get out into the yard. I'm wondering if she wanted to go lay in the bushes that she had been scouting yesterday! Her face was also getting redder too and I knew an egg was due any moment! So exciting!

 

[Julia62]

Hey, congrats! It never gets old. We have two hens that have been laying for about a year now and three new girls that just started laying last week (one still hasn't). The new ones are easter eggers so the eggs are green! The size has been 33 grams so far which is small.

Yes, the eggs are small to start but get bigger. I'd say it takes 2 weeks or so to get to full size. My Ginger (Golden Comet) has laid a 75 gram egg which is huge! Average size is about 62-70 grams now.

I have been lucky that all of them seem to go right to the nests.

 

[aart]

That was great! So sweet!

You might want to put some higher fronts on the nests(to hold bedding and eggs against the inevitable scratching around that will happen soon),
and a 2x2 or 2x4 perch about 8" away from front, so they can fly up and land on it to check things out before entering nest.


You can check out waffles pelvic bones to confirm she is the one laying...and how close the other might be.


Signs of onset of lay---I've found the pelvic points to be the most accurate.
Squatting:
If you touch their back they will hunker down on the ground, then shake their tail feathers when they get back up.
This shows they are sexually mature and egg laying is close at hand.

Combs and Wattles:
Plump, shiny red - usually means laying.
Shriveled, dryish looking and pale - usually means not laying.
Tho I have found that the combs and wattles can look full and red one minute then pale back out the next due to exertion or excitement, can drive ya nuts when waiting for a pullet to lay!

2 bony points on either side of vent:
Less than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means not laying.
More than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means laying.

 

[ChickenRehab]

Congrats! Awesome video, thanks for sharing.

 

[Weehopper]

Very cool. Your first egg! The best tasting egg of all.
The squatting in front of you business is just telling you she is sexually mature, is ready to lay, and wants to be bred. If you had a rooster she would be squatting in front of him. They are all about reproduction. . Anyway, congrats. On the first egg, Now you are hooked!

 

[Rockerchix]

Thank you for this info!! I am a first time chicken and I have 4 young hens. One has just started laying pullet eggs daily and I think another has started. I wasn't positive which ones they were so now I think I can figure it out! It has been a real joy to have them in my backyard and exciting now they are beginning to lay!!