Still waiting.....meanwhile, egg questions!

[petesgirl]

My hens are just shy of 5 months. I have 2 sex-link, 1 austrolorp, 2 slw, 2 giant blue cochin, 2 banty cochin, 2 dominique and 2 white crested polish (well, one of the polish is a roo). No signs of egg laying, no egg song!

My question is when you find an egg are they usually sitting right on top of the litter(the egg), or are they buried where you have to search for them? Will I know for sure when they are close to laying, or sometimes are you just surprised? Sometimes I wonder if mine have laid an egg somewhere that I haven't looked! They do free range about 2-3 times a week (only when I am home) otherwise they are completely enclosed in a coop with a large enclosed run. They have never entered their nest boxes, where I have put golf balls.

Once I got so excited, thought I saw an egg by a tree, turned out to be a perfectly egg shaped rock

I am so anxious and excited to get an egg, and have read many of your posts saying that many of you already have eggs with hens this age!

Oh, mine have been on an organic layer feed for awhile now, plenty of water, bugs and grass/weeds. Do I need to add oyster shells now or wait until they start laying? Any other nutrients they need? They seem very healthy/happy and energetic! I will have to post some pics, they have turned out to be beautiful girls!

 

[christa7032]

They will usually be right on top but look around just in case. My girls have always been pretty good about laying in their nesting boxes but twice now I have stepped on an egg buried in the shavings on the floor of the coop. Just be patient, you should get some eggs soon. If you think they are laying somewhere else, you can always lock them up for a week straight and see if they lay any. Otherwise, just wait and keep checking!

 

[Cheep]

Quote:
1. Yes
2. No
3. Surprised!
4. They can do that
5. Save that rock! I bet it's better than the bright pink & green plastic egg that was the only thing I found.
6. Depends on the individuals, & be comforted that many say when hens lay too early, they are more liable to get egg-bound. Also, they can be better layers in the long run

7. Post the pictures

I am a newbie, but I read here a lot; that's where I get my info. Like all life, there are many variations from the "mythical norm"

 

[petesgirl]

So, here are a few of my gals, they look ready to lay, right? Except for Little Ms. Frizzle von Bizzle!

Lorp, LaQUicha, Lacey

Lorp and Red

Ms. Frizzle von Bizzle

Ms. Blue

Lorp