After another day of shouting and scratching the straw out and milling around outside, 3 hens had a go in the nest box during the day. Hurry who still hasn't laid her first egg, got turfed out of the box by Fudge who wiggled about for a bit and wandered off to get some food much to Cillin's disgust. Mel (in the picture) who I wasn't expecting to lay got in to show them how it's done.
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Mel has been an every other day layer when her cycle gets going.
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Mel isn't a pullet. She hatched twice now. According to current wisdom she shouldn't be laying. We are not getting anything like the 12 to 14 hours of daylight supposed to be needed for hens to lay eggs.
I've got others, not pullets either, that have not only started laying; one on the shortest day of the year ironically. I can't help thinking that conventional wisdom may be a bit too, well....conventional.