Our first week of eggs .... just one chicken or more .... don't know?

[skhomer]

The eggs are as pictured left to right - last Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then Saturday, Sunday, Monday and today. The first was in the run, so I put golf balls in the nest boxes and every one after that has been in the same nest box. My oldest 7 girls are 23 weeks old - 4 production reds and 3 speckled sussex, it could be any of them, or maybe more than one?

Anyhow - we're excited! We had just gotten our standard bi-weekly order from a local farm, so I'm still trying to use those up before I start on ours - besides I can't quit looking at them

 

[eggdd]

what is a production red?

 

[Azriel]

Very nice eggs, by the colors I would say there are at least 2 laying.

 

[skhomer]

Yay -- I told my husband I need a peep window so I can tell who's doing what -- I asked Tractor Supply for Rhode Island Reds, but have since found out that I got "production" reds, which from what I gather can be Rhode Island or New England .... or a combination thereof? Anyone more educated is asked to chime in please.

Will shell color be consistent to the bird? That would be nice, then I could at least guess at who to congratulate.

 

[Bugg]

Quote:
Shell color will vary. I get light and dark brown eggs from the same hens. The white hens also lay brown eggs.
The FAQ hens and eggs section answers egg color question. https://www.backyardchickens.com/cgi-bin/faq/mojofaq.cgi?cat=1#mojo6
There is a link above for breeds that has some info on production reds. https://www.backyardchickens.com/breeds/


hope this helps, Bugg

 

[chickensbythesea]

If it's only one or two and you're super curious, I can usually tell by doing a butt check. Basically, you just look for the one who looks like she could fit an egg out, haha.

If you don't routinely look at their vents, you should still be able to tell, it's the one that doesn't match the rest.

As for production reds, they're a mix of rhode island reds, new hampshire reds, and a little bit of leghorn genetics. A "true" RIR would be darker than your birds, but finding a pure RIR is actually pretty challenging (not going to get them from a hatchery or the feed store).
I think it's pretty commonly accepted to consider production reds Rhode Island Reds, except in competitions, which I have zero knowledge about.

 

[skhomer]

We're super curious (Hubby has mysteriously grown interested in "my" chickens) -- but there are 7 twenty-three week olds and another 10 that are 17-18 weeks .... so soon the task would become too much .....

Another egg today, so we're getting one egg a day for the last 5 days .... but today's was back to being tiny, so all signs point to multiple layers. So far all in the same nest box even though there are 9 boxes. We laughed about a webcam tonight at dinner .... I wonder how long that will take to become reality. Hubs is just a bit project oriented.

 

[chickensbythesea]

My husband gets really into the chickens when they start laying too. Never around coop clean up time though...Hmm.
Never mind the fact our older girls have been cranking them out for ages, the spring chicks just started laying, and if he is home and they make any noise, he's out the door like I said my parents are coming for dinner (I kid, I kid). I have to give him credit, he's usually able to figure out who out of the 30 or so it was, even if neither of us remember if that one has laid before or not.

 

[openheartnp]

Congratulations! You can also blow the egg so you can save it, if you are into that. I do that for Easter crafts.