Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[Scrambles55]

Ahhh, that's a good plan. Anconas lay exotic white eggs. SS are beautiful. My sex link is a sweetie. How about a BR?

You have a tough choice.

BR... isn't that what ROGER is??? I don't know.......

 

[Scrambles55]

Let the girls out for an hour of supervised free range. Happy hens!! Eating grass and dust bathing!!

 

[Whoops]

Quote:
Probably. It's her nature. George is so diligent at avoiding her, that it's hard to catch her at it. But, it's on the level of a little hackle fluffing or a quick peck in passing. Nothing significant enough to warrant George's trepidation.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

GRRRRRRRRRRR

George broke both eggs today.

One was kicked out of the box and trampled, despite the higher lip. The other she apparently played soccer with in the box frantically spinning around hiding from the girls, who just wanted in the box to lay.

Dang it, George, pick a different hiding spot!

Should I remove the original nest box that everyone seems to want to lay in, fight over and hide in and just leave two new ones in the hope that George will pick a different favorite hideyhole?

Should I put Psychochicken Hattie,who is the one George seems most scared of, off in the baby coop by herself for a couple of days?

This is frustrating.

You could just block off the troubling nest box, that it would be easier to use later. What is your nest box to hen ratio? Maybe you just need more. Cardboard boxes are easy to use. Also, are the boxes open or fairly closed in? Closed in with a hen-sized opening makes them more comfortable because they can defend their space.

Putting Psychochicken in isolation for a few days (or a week or 2) could change the dynamic of your whole flock for the better, especially if she is the dominant hen. I did that with my crazy Leghorn, and everyone had a relaxing week. Big stress alleviator. Unfortunately, she resumed her evil ways after a week or two back with the group.

Quote: Most of the hatchery birds are not broody. It's been bred out of them. My hatchery BR has never had even a fleeting thought broodiness. But, Roger did raise Little Roger, although I'm not sure if she was hatchery or from a breeder.

 

[Whoops]

I have one official, real, bought at a feed store wooden nest box. It is wooden, an enclosed box with an opening in the front, and I made a second out of a kitty little bucket with a lip to keep stuff from falling out when the troubles started.. Nobody like that one. There are two nest boxes and two hens currently laying. The nest boxes are free-standing in the coop, so it's easy enough to remove the prized one.

Maybe I need to make some roll-out nest boxes?

 

[BullChick]

Thank you for thinking the boys are cute. They are kinda. I am trying to keep my mind focused on what they are for. The Bourbon Reds I will be getting next week (wow! Already?) are a tough choice. One might be dinner next year, but the rest (should be able to pick out 4 girls and a boy) are the breeders. Their babies will be sold or eaten. So, I can get attached to the breeders if I want.
Hatchery stock may be less likely to be broody, but I know Meyer Hatchery will tell you which breeds are most likely to be broody. JG, BO, and BR are three that are still brooders of their stock. I don't have any BO, but the other two breeds were all broody last year. So check the hatchery, and see (even call and ask) what they say in the stats.

 

[chickenlindz]

Four!!!
3 in the fake nest and one in front of the pop door.

The largest is bigger than an XL while the little one is smaller than a peewee!

Oh and I broke my first egg today

 

[cheeka]

23 Eggs today, and for the first time, I organized the eggs by weight. I've always kept the bantam eggs for me, and eyeballed the rest... my eyeballing was pretty accurate as it turns out.

nice eggs CLindz! any double yolks yet?

Whoops, that's very annoying. would George stay roosted if you put her up? I installed a lot of extra roosts because it's harder to get picked on from the roost, not that it doesn't happen... it's just less. and I have some higher ones for preventing say... Blu from jumping up and pulling butt fuzz. the tide has turned in the Group of Seven's pen overnight. I found both Marans boys a bit beat up and hiding head first in corners, while the rest picked at them. quite the opposite of the norm! those Marans are big for bantams and they usually do the bullying.

 

[mortie]

It's not difficult to carry the chicks to their pen. I have a box I've been putting them in. It's difficult to get them out of their brooder. It's big and I only have access to one side of it and they do not want to be caught to be taken out. My dad rounded them up for my today and we put them out just in time for it to rain. Poor babies. Had to gather them back up and put them back inside.

 

[lindz8504]

So... here are my new layers' eggs.... I am still waiting on a second one from the Marans.... Do you think both of the Bantam cochin girls are laying or just one?

My fridge is full of eggs! Thats 12 dozen, plus the extras, bantam eggs, and the double yolkers in the vintage container. Thats not even counting todays eggs yet!

3 days worth, before I put them in the fridge!