Should eggs be removed out of sight of chickens?

[Pacificastrange]

Hi - new to this all and love these girls. Have 2 americaunas, 2 rhode island reds. Have had them since they were 5 days old. They are now 6 months old and we just started getting eggs yesterday. Not sure if only one or how many have started laying. Have gotten 6 eggs over the last 2 days. Yay. When I go into the back to get the eggs, our Bella the black and red americana runs up the ladder into the coop and pokes around the nest. Is it best to take the eggs out of her sight?? I know, sounds silly, but I don't want to stress her. Also, we have gotten bluish eggs, a white egg and a light red-brown and a really dark red brown. Could they all come from Bella? Thanks and we look forward to participating in this forum.

 

[feathersnuggles]

Welcome to chickens! It's normal to remove the eggs, at least on a daily basis. I found my hens seemed "comforted somehow" by seeing something in the nest, when they went to the nest to lay. So, I put a golfball in each nest. That did the trick, and I can take the eggs without worrying they won't lay in the nest again.

As to the colors.... A hen lays slight variations of one color alone. So, one of your two ameraucanas laid the blue egg. RIR hens will lay brown and even dark brown, so those are probably from the RIRs. The other ameraucana probably laid the white egg.

If your birds are hatchery stock, they are likely not ameraucanas, but Easter Eggers (EE, for short). EEs will lay a range of colors, from white to blue and green. I have 2 EEs: one lays a sage-green egg, the other a pinkish-beige egg.

No matter the shell colors, the eggs will taste wonderful!

 

[Pacificastrange]

Thanks so much. I have the golf balls (thanks to my husband!) so I will put them in. Wow - this really is remarkable, I am amazed how taken I am with this whole thing.

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
Yes, you've been bitten. As many of us also have.

 

[12GAGirl]

I too use the golf ball trick in my nest boxes. My flock is going on 8 months old and have been laying for months now so I figured I could remove te golf balls.....wrong. I moved the golf balls and the hens laying patterns got all screwed up and one laid an egg on the ground after after months of everyone laying in the nests. So, I returned the golf balls to the nests and everyone is back to normal. Well, as normal as chickens get!

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
LOL! I did the same thing when I was trying to break my broody. I removed all the golf balls from the nests. Well, a couple hours later there was a ruckus in the henhouse when one of the other hens was ready to lay her egg. She went to each nest checking, and finally digging out ALL THE CONTENTS of the nests onto the floor.... searching, no doubt, for a golf ball! She was distressed, and "qwuack-qwua-quacked" louder and louder, pacing all around the coop. She was completely frustrated, poor thing. I put back a golf ball... and quick as a wink, she jumped into the nest and laid her egg. Taught me a lesson right there. LOL.

 

[chickluver:D]

that sounds cute for a chicken to do

another member