My Chicks are about 16/17 weeks old,they've been doing the deed for a couple weeks now(which by the way,my son does NOT like how it's being done...he tries to get them to stop,and I keep telling him it's natures way...he says,well,are you telling me it's natures way for that big ole rooster to grab the girl by her neck,throw her down,then rape her?? LOL)anyhow,my girls combs and wattles have gotten pretty big and nice and red. Just wondering since they are mating now,should I start looking for eggs? They have free range,with woods and such on the outer edges of my yard...I have nest boxes in their coup,but they never go in there till it's time for bed. So I'm thinking they aren't going to be laying in there. What are your thoughts??
I would get some of the ceramic eggs and put them in the nest boxes. 2 each box. Or, I just bought the plastic easter eggs and filled them with dirt and did the above. Within days they were laying in the boxes.
My hens were being mated for about a month before my first egg. The combs and wattles were all nice and red and I thought for sure any day. I looked for eggs everyday for a month before I finally got one. My hens and roo never use their coop. They roost in the trees above at night. When it came time for my first egg there it was in the coop nest box right next to the golf ball. That was 1.5 weeks ago and now they are given me 5-6 eggs a day. I have one SLW roo with 5 SLW hens and 6 black australorps and one RiR hen who doesn't/won't/refuses to stay in her own pen and always finds her way back to this one so I've left her, lol.
