Physical Signs***Update***Photos & More ???

[CoyoteMagic]

I have noticed in the last week that another has stared to develope red on her comb and that is seems to be getting larger.

DANG!! I've got to get the new coop with the nestboxes done quick!!!

 

[Rosalind]

They don't have to have any special nest boxes, correct? As long as it's the right dimensions, has straw/bedding inside, they will lay any old place?

DH drew some elaborate nest box plans...and then never built 'em. We've got some of those closet organizer plastic bins out there now, that were about the right size. I have hens with bright red combs and little wattles squatting around and eating layer feed and oyster shells, letting themselves get petted by me and fussed over by the roos, but they only seem to hop in the boxes, hop out again, yank the straw out and squat in the middle of the floor. Any day now...

 

[anya40]

OMG, I have news!!!! I have my first egg!!! I'm positively giddy!!
I went out this morning after posting here and one of the hens was screaming bloody murder. It scared me to death being that I had already let them out for the day. I thought something was trying to kill her! I went into the barn and looked in the coop and one of the girls was sitting up on the shelf (where I am SUPPOSED to already have the nesting boxes) screaming her head off. I walked over to her and she jumped down and bingo, there it was!!! Small, but absolutely beautiful! I brought it in the house and my boyfriend and I admired the thing for about an hour. You would think we had never seen an egg before, LOL.
Then I broke it in a skillet and admired its perfection. We each got a bite of it and it was WONDERFUL!! I am just absolutely thrilled. It took exactly 20 weeks, but it has finally happened.
I did set the girls down into the rubbermaid container full of water this morning. They didn't seem to mind it. Kind of hung around it all day. We have 3 more days of 100+ degrees and hopefully it will get better. They seemed to get through today without too much trouble. Anyway, I just had to tell you all about our egg. Thrilling!!

 

[frankenchick]

Anya40, how egg-citing!!

My 18 w/o NHR girls have been doing the squat-and-spread thing too for the last week. I had no idea what that was about. And Jane Marple seemed to grow a new comb -- hers was always so tiny and pale, now it’s bigger and redder.

This also explains the behavior of my CxR boys: at 8 weeks, they’re pulling the older girls’ neck feathers and trying to climb aboard (and getting soundly thumped when they try it with Mrs. Batty

). This didn’t happen with the last batch; I thought these guys must’ve been watching “Sex Links and the City” on cable while I was out gardening (you know, the show with Sarah Jessica Plucker and Cynthia Chixon!).

I am soo excited . . . And a little nervous. Is there anything I can do to make sure they lay in their new nest boxes? Do they lay at a particular time of day? I don’t recall where I read this, but it seems I read that they lay at night or early in the morning.

 

[mdbucks]

My rir just started laying at 21 weeks, campines and leghorns about 4 weeks now. Jsut give them the boxes and IF they want to they will lay egg in the box for you. I have 8 holes and all eggs have been layed inthe same hole. this smorning 1 leghorn was in box and one red and leghorn were standing in line waiting for that box. Mine have layed in the morning I let everyone out then those wanting to lay an egg come back in and make niose till anone still inside leaves then up into THE box, they have 8 holes and 5 eggs in the same one I dont know why I just bring them in the house.

anya40 glad you enjoyed that egg my kids did the same thing(admiring it for seemed like hours)they carried it all over the house when youngest set it down it rolled off the counter, scooped it up and the dog got the first egg while the daughter stood there crying with next egg they brought it in and it had to be cooked immeadiatly they told me how good it was they didn't share with me

 

[rrrsmom]

my barred rock... if she's 17 weeks that's all she is. She was a tiny bit bigger then the rest of the girls when I got her (day before easter) and I know they were only a day or two, but she started about 10 days ago. I wasn't even planning on looking in the nest boxes for another week, but she started the lowering herself when I walked in the chicken yard. She loves to be petted now and she sticks her tail way up in the air. I'm sure she thinks I'm a rooster. The weird thing is, I've been able to watch her flex her egg laying muscles. I imagine it's like kagel (sp) exercises. Now my golden comets comb is getting really red. She's not sticking her tail up in the air when I pet her, but I'm guessing she's next. No sign of the americana, RIR or black sexlink combs changing but the comb changing and the laying flat against the ground were very obvious with my barred rock. I'm hoping to be in full swing by this time next month and maybe the wonder will wear off with the kids and I'll be able to collect an egg myself!

 

[anya40]

Funny stories! I don't know yet about their laying habits. I've heard that they will lay in the boxes in the am. But, who knows. I didn't have my boxes made when she laid the egg the other day, so she laid it on the shelf where they will be. I didn't get an egg yesterday, or they laid out somewhere and I haven't found them yet. I have been told to leave them in the coop a little later in the morning so they will lay before roaming the yard. But, this week is so very hot that I want them out of the barn early. It gets horribly hot in there! It is now 7:40 am and I haven't let them out yet. I'll wait another hour and see if they have laid. This seems to be the hard part for me. I have 12 hens and have no idea which one is actually doing the laying because they all look exactly alike except for one. I guess they will all get in sync and start laying about the same time? I hope so. Can't imagine chasing down 12 hens to see if they have laid somewhere on this property!

 

[mdbucks]

when you let them out watch for a couple of minutes, mine will all leave then those that lay come back inside, mine didn't lay every day at first skipped 2or3 days then 2nd egg, the first ones are laying almost every day now

 

[2mnypets]

My girls combs got really red and like others have said, they squat when you go to pet their backs. I also noticed when they first started laying that they get quite vocal. Not the "bwaaaaak bwaaaaaak bgot" but more like a low "bwaak bwaak bwaak bwaak" etc. that continues for what seems like a good minute or two. It's almost a shrill kind of sound....like Kim Carnes singing "Betty Davis Eyes". My girls also started pacing a lot and jumping up into the nest boxes, exploring them and then jumping back down. Funny part was watching when one hen claimed a nest and then saw someone else looking at buying the same property. Boy now you talk about a "cat fight". Interesting behaviors for sure.