Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[mortie]

MC your turkeys delight me. I love their blue faces

 

[JW12]

3 so far today. I was watching 2 fight over a nest box this morning, the box had 1 egg in it at that time and I realized something, chickens are hard on eggs! It got kicked stepped on rolled around I was like oh my gosh an egg has a hard life.

 

[savannahm0m]

I'm seriously kidding myself if I think I will get eggs before the fall. It's too hot here, even though we are having a "cooler" spell of high 80's (but killer humidity). My cuckoo marans hopped on my shoulder yesterday and her feet were so hot, and she was panting away right in my ear. Oh well, I will keep hoping.

Anybody out there whose chickens first started laying during the hot part of summer??

My chickens started at the end of June, which gets pretty hot here in Coastal Georgia. Yesterday we were at 99 with a 110 heat index...basically you walk outside and start sweating immediately, and my white egg layer (still have not determined Exchequer or Polish) laid her second egg. It was in the box with the Marans and EE eggs...if possible, it was smaller than the last one! The girls are just starting, but the heat hasn't affected them too much. Our girls were hatched in Jan and Feb if that gives you an idea of the timeframe.

 

[valjean]

Thank you, Savannah, that does give me hope. I know all about that kind of heat - it's usually like that here by now, but we are having a relatively decent summer. So, maybe....

 

[BullChick]

I think someone else might be thinking about trying this whole egg laying business. Someone dug a big hole in one corner of the coop right down to the wood. There are like 5 inches of shavings in there. I'm pretty sure it wasn't Penny because she knows where to put her eggs and seems quite content to put them in the box. It has been a relief to not jump up and run to the window every time I hear a chicken go up the ramp but now I am tempted to stalk them again!

Sounds more like a dust bath.

 

[mortie]

Val I think it's time to invest in coop air conditioning. It may not be cheap but if it gets you eggs sooner, it's TOTALLY worth it

 

[BullChick]

Last summer I had oscillating fans in the coop. You can also freeze water bottles, and lay them around the coop for snuggling with. Their feathers are enough insulation so you don't need to wrap the ice packs.

 

[mortie]

Sounds more like a dust bath.

This would be a highly unusual place for them to dust bathe. First, there is no dust in the coop but I've totally seen chickens do it in shavings so that does happen. But they have oodles of really nice dust to roll around in all over the run. Their favorite place to do it is right under the ramp but they've got a couple of dust bowls going on out there. I can't imagine them walking by all those nice places to go inside the coop just for a bath, especially when they've never done it before in the 3 months they've been out there. I won't say it's impossible, because it probably is just Wilson playing mind games with me, just that would be highly unusual behavior for my crew. In either case, the mystery will be solved soon. Either someone will start laying or they won't.

But I'm letting it be known right now that Wilson is tops on the meat bird list.

 

[TNchickmom]

I am at wits end waiting for these two to start laying again. Help!

 

[valjean]

Val I think it's time to invest in coop air conditioning. It may not be cheap but if it gets you eggs sooner, it's TOTALLY worth it

Ha, my husband would lay an egg himself if I spent another dime on this folly. Maybe I can sneak one of those portable ones down there and he won't notice the extension cord running across the backyard and down the hill...