She laid an egg, what do I do?!

[vanilla.exe]

So my pullet laid her first egg. I don't really know when, but I assume it was today because I didn't notice it before, and I have been looking for the past week or so. I just had a feeling, lol. Well, she lives together with a young rooster. My boyfriend wants to let her keep the egg and see if anything develops, but where it's her first egg and they're both young, I don't think anything will. Thoughts?

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

A hen, or pullet, must be "broody" before she will sit on an egg and hatch it. Just because she lays eggs doesn't mean she means to hatch them...you could leave that egg in the nest box for a year and let other eggs collect with it and if the hen wasn't hormonally tempted to "brood", they would just pile up and rot. You will know your girl is broody when she won't leave the nest box except for a few minutes to eat and drink and will puff up and growl or screech at anyone or anything that reaches in her nest.

 

[Fred's Hens]

A pullet at point of lay isn't likely to go broody that quickly. Many breeds and strains of hatchery stock rarely go broody, ever. What breed?

 

[Wildflower_VA]

What I would do with my first egg is eat it. Even if a pullet just starting to lay would go broody, she is just getting the hang of laying and her eggs will be tiny for a while. Even if the rooster is covering her, chances of her actually hatching the fertilized eggs are pretty slim and being that young, you couldn't count on her being a good mother to the chicks. Hatching eggs and brooding chicks is something for a more mature hen to do.

 

[vanilla.exe]

Thanks everyone.
@Fred: She's a silkie
@Wild: I want to eat it! I am excited to eat my very first chicken's very first egg!

Edit: One other question, I didn't have a nest box for her because I didn't expect her to start laying for another few months (she's roughly 6, I've heard silkies don't start usually til around 8-9), so I put together something for her and put the egg in it, do you think that will convince her to use the box?

 

[Wildflower_VA]

vanilla.exe :

Thanks everyone.
@Fred: She's a silkie
@Wild: I want to eat it! I am excited to eat my very first chicken's very first egg!

Edit: One other question, I didn't have a nest box for her because I didn't expect her to start laying for another few months (she's roughly 6, I've heard silkies don't start usually til around 8-9), so I put together something for her and put the egg in it, do you think that will convince her to use the box?

I don't know what it is about the very first egg, but it is the best tasting egg of all. My first egg was laid on July 24th, and I am now getting 4 to 6 eggs a day from 6 pullets, but as good as these eggs are, they don't taste as good as the first. Must be the anticipation.

Since she is a silkie, she will probably go broody at a young age and will be a good mama hen.

You can make her any kind of nest box. I made mine out of a small tote, with shavings for nesting materials. Instead of leaving her own egg in the nest, put a couple of golf balls in the nest or wooden or plastic eggs. She'll get the idea and you can eat her delicious egg.​

 

[vanilla.exe]

Quote:
I don't know what it is about the very first egg, but it is the best tasting egg of all. My first egg was laid on July 24th, and I am now getting 4 to 6 eggs a day from 6 pullets, but as good as these eggs are, they don't taste as good as the first. Must be the anticipation.

Since she is a silkie, she will probably go broody at a young age and will be a good mama hen.

You can make her any kind of nest box. I made mine out of a small tote, with shavings for nesting materials. Instead of leaving her own egg in the nest, put a couple of golf balls in the nest or wooden or plastic eggs. She'll get the idea and you can eat her delicious egg.

Ok thank you! Chickens really are full of surprises. Not only did I not expect her to start laying for a few more months, i certainly did not expect her to lay another egg the day after her first, but she did! Never expect anything from your chickens, lol. I put a milk crate tipped on it's side and filled it with bedding and some rocks that look like her eggs. Should we leave her in the coop later tomorrow? She seems to be laying around noon and she's been laying in the run.

 

[JodyJo]

my girls just started laying last week...don't expect one every day...when they start out it can take a day or two to get more.
Of course your silkie could prove us all wrong! Let us know if you get another egg!

You can leave her in a bit longer...although my girls migrate back to the coop from free ranging to do their business...
hopefully she will too.

 

[jbowyer01]

Just a question, I might have missed it in you post but do you have a rooster?

 

[hispoptart]

I don't have a silkie but my RIR has given me her first egg and then a second bigger one the next day. Hoping to find a third one today.