Our FIRST egg!! NOW what?!?!?!

[ChickPeas]

We got our first egg this am...found it in the corner on the coop floor. It's so adorable!!

So now what do I do? We didn't have any nest boxes set up bc I thought the girls were too young to lay yet...they were born mid-March...so they're 16-17 weeks now?

Should we set the next boxes where the egg was laid on the coop floor or where we planned to put them in the first place?

Also, do I need to change their food now? My 6 girls live with one roo. Does anything need to be done for him as far as food changes?

I want to make my girlies comfortable when laying, so any advice would be great!

 

[cjeanean]

I have a lot of different ages in my coop, so I decided to keep them all on the all purpose feed and just offer calcium free choice. If all your chickens are laying age then you can switch them to a layer feed (chickens younger than laying age can't process the calcium and can have kidney failure) I put the nest boxes in my coop literally a day and a half before I got eggs (lucky guess) and then put golf balls in the nests after I got eggs. The golf balls are supposed to resemble eggs, so that when a hen pecks at it she realizes it's not edible, and therefore won't eat her eggs. Don't know if it worked, I guess we'll see! Go ahead and put the nest boxes in whenever you can, mine don't lay in the boxes, they lay in the litter under the roost. Congrats on the egg!!!

 

[OtneyPrice]

I use all purpose feed because I have many ages of chickens, and leave oyster shell out next to the grit. Layer feed (extra calcium in it) can affect bone development in chicks, but if your rooster's full grown it may not be detrimental. Put a nest box in today - it will help keep eggs clean as they "rarely" poop in the nest. Box should be about 12" tall by 12" wide by 14" deep - although a friend put an old doghouse on stilts and his chickens seem just fine using that. In reality, you could probably use anything for a nest box. Good luck!

 

[thechickenchick]

Congrats on your first egg! Isn't it EGG-citing! I have nesting boxes and some of the goofy girls still choose to lay on the floor!

 

[chickenlickin8]

Feed them the laying feed. It's fine for the roo too. Definitely get some nest boxes installed soon. Put them about 6 to 12" off the ground so they can look into the box and figure out what they are for. Then put a golf ball or fake ceramic egg in each nest. This will help the girls know where to put their eggs. Good Luck!

 

[beakkeeper]

You can keep them on the normal feed, just make sure they get a ton of calcium. Put nesting boxes 1-2 ft. up the wall and provide nesting stuff in there. Make a little cloth door with slits in it so it's dark and cozy but well ventilated.

Congrats on your egg!

 

[DDRanch]

Yes, it sounds like you need nesting boxes now. I used sturdy cardboard boxes until we could get ours built....but give them something filled with straw or other clean bedding material. Isn't it exciting?
Anne

 

[gumpsgirl]

It sounds like you've gotten a lot of good advice, so I am just going to say, "CONGRATULATIONS!!!"

 

[ChickPeas]

Thanks everyone! We've gotten 3 thus far. The hen, whoever it is, keeps laying them on the floor. We're getting the nesting boxes put up tomorrow.

Do nesting boxes always need to be up high? Why is that? Just curious.....

I have 6 pullets, 3 standard and 3 banties...is two boxes enough?

 

[lemurchaser]

Mine hatched March 17th, and are now almost 21 weeks old. Maybe they are a little older then you were thinking.

Enjoy your eggs, mine haven't started laying yet.