Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[Wishing4Wings]

We are still not 100% on the gender by probably Dexter or Max for a boy and Luna for a girl.

I was so relieved it was an easy fix for Monica, she must have caught it on something while she was free ranging before bed. It was bleeding quite a bit when I found her so it must have been quite recent. I'm sure she'll be jumping on top of the garden chairs in no time!

Well, I'm certainly not an expert on sexing puppies, but don't the males have a particular body part in a place where a female would not have one? I guess the pup is too young to see if it squats or lifts a leg!

 

[grandma7]

I am down to 3 store bought eggs. Keeping thinking girls will make me happy with an egg or 2 here soon. Four out of 6 girls have strong comb and wattles. I've checked 3 out of 6 pelvic bones. Got 2.5-3 fingers distance. I reached for one of the girls today to check pelvic bones and she held her wings out and got got down low.
I let my girls do some free ranging today.....oh my they loved the grass. We were winterizing the chicken run.
They were cautious at first but eventually made it to other side of yard.

 

[XxMingirlxX]

Hi everyone! So, I have an easter egger who is about 25 weeks old. When should I be expecting eggs? Also, my rhode island red has layed an egg a day for 4 days in a row. Is that normal? She has only been laying a few weeks.

Yes, it's completely normal for Rhode Island Reds to lay on consecutive days, especially when they are young.

As for when you chicken might start laying; does she squat? This is a great indication of when they are close to laying. Touch her back and she should hunker down into a squat position like the one below. This shows that they are sexually mature as the whole purpose of the squat is to provide a stable platform for roosters while mating.
(not my photo)

The comb and wattles should be bright red and supple (not wrinkly or dry looking)

Another good way to tell if they are close to laying is to look at the width of their pubic/pelvic bones. The photo below will show you where to look. You will find two bony points on either side of the vent. if you can't get atleast two fingers in that gap then they probably aren't very close because these bones have to be spread out in order to pass an egg through them.

 

[XxMingirlxX]

Well, I'm certainly not an expert on sexing puppies, but don't the males have a particular body part in a place where a female would not have one? I guess the pup is too young to see if it squats or lifts a leg!

Haha, you are supposed to wait until they are four weeks to sex them anyway so that you don't disturb the mother or distress the pup. The problem is that the boys don't have balls at this point (they are still inside... ew) so it's hard to know what your looking for. Although we are guessing girl. We will ask the vet for a difinitive answer when she goes in for her vaccinations.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I am down to 3 store bought eggs. Keeping thinking girls will make me happy with an egg or 2 here soon. Four out of 6 girls have strong comb and wattles. I've checked 3 out of 6 pelvic bones. Got 2.5-3 fingers distance. I reached for one of the girls today to check pelvic bones and she held her wings out and got got down low.
I let my girls do some free ranging today.....oh my they loved the grass. We were winterizing the chicken run.
They were cautious at first but eventually made it to other side of yard.

Sounds like a couple of them at least are getting close. 3 eggs are not going to last long. They need a little encouragement. Get a bucket of KFC and eat it while giving knowing glances. If that doesn't scare the eggs out of them, I don't know what will!

The grass is really good for them and will make the yolks a nice dark orange. I feed out alfalfa and kale when we don't have any green available, which is most of the year since this stupid drought started. Once you start getting fresh eggs, you will not want to go back to the anemic looking store eggs again! Hope you don't have to wait too long. Keep us posted!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Quote: Well, no wonder! I've never bred a dog before, so not been around pups that young. Trainer I know breeds fox terriers, and she routinely handles them before their eyes open. She said it makes them less sensitive to stress and more connected to people (or something like that). Anyway, it's a great excuse for handling the little sweeties! I know her dogs are very nice and highly trainable, so she's not messing them up too bad!

 

[XxMingirlxX]

Well, no wonder!  I've never bred a dog before, so not been around pups that young.  Trainer I know breeds fox terriers, and she routinely handles them before their eyes open.  She said it makes them less sensitive to stress and more connected to people (or something like that).  Anyway, it's a great excuse for handling the little sweeties!  I know her dogs are very nice and highly trainable, so she's not messing them up too bad!

Haha. Yes we handled her before she opened her eyes but only for brief periods of time (not long enough to get a good look).

 

[mortie]

I still have the same chickens as I had before. Next fall I wlil probably cycle 2 of them out so as some of them are slowing down, I can have some strong layers that just came in and they don't all go downhill at the same time. For now, Penny, Maggie, Wilson, Hedwig, Shadow, and Midge are all lovin life in the coop. Probably Hedwig and Wilson will be on the meat bird list. I will evaluate when the time comes.

I've had some trouble with the bees recently. They found themselves queenless just the last week or so. I could have just let them fizzle and put it out of my mind til next year but I bought them a new queen even though they are unlikely to survive the winter queen or no queen. I did it because I can't learn about fall or winter beekeeping unless I am...you know...beekeeping. So she's been in her cage since weds and I'd like to let her out but it's been too cold. It's been so cold and their population is so low that wasps have been able to walk in and out of the colony with impunity. I've had to seal the entrance totally. They are clustered since it's quite chilly but the wasps have been able to function just fine. Poor bees. Next year will be better.

I got 65 lbs of honey from them, and I left them with like 100 lbs for winter. They are unlikely to make it through winter because their colony is weak. Hopefully they will do so before they've had a chance to eat all that honey so I can have plenty for my bees next spring.

 

[cheeka]

Hi everyone! So, I have an easter egger who is about 25 weeks old. When should I be expecting eggs? Also, my rhode island red has layed an egg a day for 4 days in a row. Is that normal? She has only been laying a few weeks.

as for your EE, at least another 3-5 weeks minimum - but if she's like some of my late bloomers... it will be February of 2016, during an ice storm!

I am down to 3 store bought eggs. Keeping thinking girls will make me happy with an egg or 2 here soon. Four out of 6 girls have strong comb and wattles. I've checked 3 out of 6 pelvic bones. Got 2.5-3 fingers distance. I reached for one of the girls today to check pelvic bones and she held her wings out and got got down low.
I let my girls do some free ranging today.....oh my they loved the grass. We were winterizing the chicken run.
They were cautious at first but eventually made it to other side of yard.

and Welcome! few more weeks and you'll be teeming with eggs! lovely yard - it won't take them long to take over completely!

 

[chickenraiser24]

Yes, it's completely normal for Rhode Island Reds to lay on consecutive days, especially when they are young. 

As for when you chicken might start laying; does she squat? This is a great indication of when they are close to laying. Touch her back and she should hunker down into a squat position like the one below. This shows that they are sexually mature as the whole purpose of the squat is to provide a stable platform for roosters while mating.
(not my photo)

The comb and wattles should be bright red and supple (not wrinkly or dry looking)

Another good way to tell if they are close to laying is to look at the width of their pubic/pelvic bones. The photo below will show you where to look. You will find two bony points on either side of the vent. if you can't get atleast two fingers in that gap then they probably aren't very close because these bones have to be spread out in order to pass an egg through them.

She won't let me get close enough to check. Her comb is very red, though. My rhode island red showed no signs indicating she was close to laying(except for the red comb). One day she just went to the nesting box, came back, and chased a spider. She layed 5 eggs in her first week of laying. My easter egger has been a bit agressive lately, is it possible I have a rooster?