Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[lindz8504]

Ok I need some advice.... Since we have put the big girls and Doodle (can you tell my 5 yo son named our Roo?) into the big coop with all the girls (G.C's) they have decided they want to lay in the corner underneath the roosts..... I have seen everyone checking out the nesting boxes, but they apparently haven't passed inspection. This morning I went down to let everyone out and Clarabelle had already laid, so I took her egg and put it in the nesting box so maybe I can convince Bertha and Amelia that this is a good spot! Any other suggestions? I would try to put them in the nesting box, but they are still a little flighty and skedaddle when I bend over to touch them or pick them up.

 

[BullChick]

Keep putting eggs in the box. Some will never (or rarely )lay in the box.

 

[Sallysec]

cheeka, (and anybody else who's considering heritage breeds) there is a good thread going about breeding to the SOP, which means heritage. Some the more experienced breeders on BYC are contributing and there is lots of great practical info and theory. I'm about 30 pages in and they are "studying" one breed at a time. When they got to the rocks (#2) I though about how cheeka wants to start some good BRs and they mention specific breeders, so thought you might be interested.

I've learned all sorts of cool things like what a crow headed bird looks like and how to recognize a pinched tail, squirrel tail, and scissor wing. Good reading and has convinced me that in the future, as my hatchery girls pass on, I will be replacing them with more carefully bred stock.

It's at least worth checking out the Plymouth Rock section. CSU - Chicken State University- Large Fowl SOP
OK, I haven't got far enough to see if they've done RIRs or Delawares.



Mustacheio and I finally tackled the ground cage for the new girls. He got to run the power tools! Almost done, just need to figure out a practical top as the cage is 4 x 8'.

I love that SOP thread...I didn't get very far in it but when I have a little extra time or insomnia I have done some reading there. It is so interesting! One thing I love about chicken people is the sharing of knowledge that goes on here.

Ok I need some advice.... Since we have put the big girls and Doodle (can you tell my 5 yo son named our Roo?) into the big coop with all the girls (G.C's) they have decided they want to lay in the corner underneath the roosts..... I have seen everyone checking out the nesting boxes, but they apparently haven't passed inspection. This morning I went down to let everyone out and Clarabelle had already laid, so I took her egg and put it in the nesting box so maybe I can convince Bertha and Amelia that this is a good spot! Any other suggestions? I would try to put them in the nesting box, but they are still a little flighty and skedaddle when I bend over to touch them or pick them up.

I would put some dummy eggs or rocks or golf balls...something in there to get them to check it out and see what it is for. Also is the nest box easy to get into? Private? At first my girls I think didn't even know when they would be laying an egg and I would find them sitting in the middle of the run or random places...but they caught on quick and go to the coop boxes even when free ranging. I only had one that would try and hide her egg around the yard (same spot every time) she actually stopped doing that herself after a few days of not being let out. I use rocks as 'dummy' eggs. It also stops them from pecking at the eggs I think. I did notice when I built a large nestbox that the girls prefer the darker private ones. Funny part is my teenager coop has two boxes and they all lay in the same one. Once you get one to lay in the nest box they all follow.


So today I took the chicks to my son's preschool. The kids had a blast and I let them run around in a little pen I put on the floor. The kids asked some funny questions. "Can chicks go in your pocket?", "Do chicks poop?" , "Do chicks eat your face?" My husband and I had a lot of fun with the kids. We brought them home and tucked them back into their box and all went well. I also gave them a book to read to the kids after we left. I got it from a fellow BYC person who wrote the book. It is about a silkie called peanut...the teachers laughed so much.

Ok...so I have the brinsea (AL I think you asked about a set it and forget it incubator) mini eco advanced...It was awesome for the last hatch and to be honest I think I could have had better results if I let the eggs rest longer after shipping...in my excitement I didn't want to wait and I still hatched two of the seven. I seriously didn't even add water but once a week and it was so easy. I never checked the humidity or questioned anything. It has a sensor for the temp etc. and would beep if it went off the proper temp. Knowing this I basically just put the eggs in and added water whenever I candled. I am debating buying a second one without the 'advanced' part. Which means I will manually have to turn the eggs and I will have to watch the temp etc myself. So with my crazy lifestyle It will be more work but I kind of feel like it is worth it. If I get a hovabator or LG I can hatch soooo many more eggs but my husband doesn't like the styrofoam idea. He basically said spend the extra twenty five dollars and get another brinsea. I feel silly having two small incubators and wonder why I didn't buy the octagon 20 in the first place. Since I was just starting though I went with small...now I am hooked. Sooooo my girlfriend (the sensible one) wants me to stick six store eggs in the townhouse and pray that broody sits on them until the shipped eggs get here. I also can take the auto turn table out of the advanced and put up to ten eggs in the current incubator I have...thing is with seven eggs in there at hatch time I though it was pretty tight...I can't imagine ten. I asked hubby if he wanted to make an incubator...he finally said NO to something...bahahaha

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Hey lindz, I went back and looked at the pics of your coop and couldn't tell the layout inside, so you may already have it set up this way, but here's what I remember about nest box advice.

They should be lower than your lowest roost to prevent roosting on/in them.
Easy access, have a bar across the front so they can perch and inspect before entering.
Fairly private and dim, not in a high traffic area.
Enclosed but roomy with a "defensible" entry. They want to feel safe.
Tall enough that they can lay the egg, which they do standing, not sitting as I always thought.

Quick fix ideas to try:
Temporarily block or fence off the corner they are using.
Leave fake eggs in the nests. Golf balls work.
Put a quickie nest box on the floor closer to the nest boxes (cardboard box or old plastic container) since they like the floor.
Put up "curtains." Tack some old bits of fabric over all or part of some nest openings to add privacy and darken the space.
Put up a ramp to the boxes.

Remember, chickens are real chicken and are highly suspicious of changes, so maybe one thing at a time.

They are also copy cats. Once one starts doing something, most of the rest will follow. Good luck!

 

[lindz8504]

Hey lindz, I went back and looked at the pics of your coop and couldn't tell the layout inside, so you may already have it set up this way, but here's what I remember about nest box advice.

They should be lower than your lowest roost to prevent roosting on/in them.
Easy access, have a bar across the front so they can perch and inspect before entering.
Fairly private and dim, not in a high traffic area.
Enclosed but roomy with a "defensible" entry. They want to feel safe.
Tall enough that they can lay the egg, which they do standing, not sitting as I always thought.

Quick fix ideas to try:
Temporarily block or fence off the corner they are using.
Leave fake eggs in the nests. Golf balls work.
Put a quickie nest box on the floor closer to the nest boxes (cardboard box or old plastic container) since they like the floor.
Put up "curtains." Tack some old bits of fabric over all or part of some nest openings to add privacy and darken the space.
Put up a ramp to the boxes.

Remember, chickens are real chicken and are highly suspicious of changes, so maybe one thing at a time.

They are also copy cats. Once one starts doing something, most of the rest will follow. Good luck!

I will go down in a little bit and get some pictures of the whole inside.... Hubby is talking about redoing the nesting boxes so I can use plastic totes that can be easily dumped to clean....

 

[Sallysec]

I fixed the big nest box by adding curtains....also to stop them from inspecting each others eggs etc..

Okay so I went out and got pictures of the black green chicken today for yall.


Her name is Nicole

She looks so thin here...but she really isn't thin, although to be honest I feel like all of them are very trim looking. When I first got them and my father kept talking about how fat they would get I expected them to be chunkier...I like how they look right now...I saw someones meat birds and thought they looked kinda bad...I felt bad for them, if that makes sense.

Lucy likes this draped piece of fabric. My husband was going to move it afraid they would get tangled in it and its just an eyesore...I said leave it because they use it as a tent and have basically dug out under it to bathe.

I just like this picture of two eggs I found today.

Lucy was really being funny today acting for attention.

When they were little and I was afraid of them being cold outside I had moved them into the metal shed...I think they still consider it their home and they inspect it when I go inside. I have to throw some scratch outside to keep them from coming in. This may be why they do it all the time to my husband too lol he says they know how to get crack.

Lucy and my RIR Jessica are the first two to peck at something. This includes my jewelry/toes/pants anything that looks shiny. I actually thought she was going to peck the lens at one point and pulled back.

of course if they are getting attention then Maggie wants some to. If she sees an egg she will pick it up and bring it up into the house and give it to you. Funny thing is the dog won't fetch/catch a ball. She has brought both my husband and I eggs she found when the girls first started laying outside the coop.
Both of my dogs go outside when the chickens are lose. I do not trust them completely but they have actually been VERY good. I am almost in awe of how good they have become. Tommy still runs into the coop though the minute she sees a dog.


Two funny eggs...notice the 'vein' like appearance.

 

[lindz8504]

Ok here goes with alot of pictures of my coop!


Bertha, Clarabelle, Doodle, and Amelia on the limb roost.

Front of coop with Zauk, our great dane, standing guard!

Looking in door and to the right, toward the nesting boxes.

Looking in door and to the left, toward the roosts.

In coop facing roosts... They like to lay in the corner behind the water pan.

In coop facing the nesting boxes, and feeders.

Close up of Nesting boxes

Outside nesting boxes,

Inside nesting boxes from outside.

 

[showbarnmom]

Omg I have coop envy!!!!!!!

 

[lindz8504]

Omg I have coop envy!!!!!!!

Aww, Thanks! Hubby did a good job using pallets I think!

 

[showbarnmom]

I totally agree! He can build me one too!