We discovered NINE EGGS!!

[ChickenNewbie5]

My 4.5 month old BO's and Gold Stars are laying! We discovered 9 eggs and were so excited. I wanted to crack them all open so badly. They are the perfect eggs. Nice orange yolks I can see the white and the watery outer layer. Even had a double yolk!!! Since then we've gotten 2-3 each day this week.

My questions are, How can I train them to lay before they are let out in the morning? We let them out about 10-11am and they go back home at dusk. We have 3 acres and a 30+ cow pasture for them to graze on. We left this late morning and I saw 2 chickens go back to the coop about 30 minutes after we let them out. I forgot to check the coop before we left. When we got home, we checked and found 2 eggs adn one eggs on our gravel driveway. I'm afraid theywill start laying outside the coop. This is the first week (Wednesday) that we discovered eggs.

Also, I have one aggressive rooster that has gone after all of my kids. Anyway, I can train it out of him or his he soup??

Chandi

 

[CubRed]

you can't train them to lay when you want....they lay when they need...

as for the rooster... a stick does wonders...

 

[woodmort]

Chickens aint trainable. If you can't keep them locked up until they finish laying there isn't much you can do. Just be glad they go back to the nest, some birds will find a spot to make a nest in an out-of-the-way place and hide eggs.

 

[ninjascrub69]

Keep them locked in the coop for about a week, and they will start laying in the coop... but you cant train them to lay at a specific time.

 

[ChickenNewbie5]

I guess thats what I was asking. If there was a way to make sure they laid the same time everyday? I didn't suppose so, but I was hoping. I was pretty impressed that 2 of them did go back to the coop.

Chandi

 

[gryeyes]

It takes about 26 hours to "build" a chicken egg. The longest amount of time is spent creating the shell, close to 20 hours.

Anyway, if a chicken generally lays daily, and lays an egg around 9 a.m., the next day she will lay around 11 a.m., and it progresses that way until it's too late to lay, and she'll lay it the next day, effectively "skipping" one day.

The majority of eggs are laid between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

 

[MaKettle]

I have heard (but have not fact checked for myself) that chickens lay every 25 hours...This isn't the case for my birds...my most reliable layer had been laying sometime between 8-9:30 every morning, and this went on for weeks. Then, she skipped a day and has now started laying sometime before 8am. My other layer has the strangest schedule--she basically lays when she wants & its impossible to figure out her pattern.

 

[BayouPoules]

Well you've got the idea about your hens,.. now about that aggressive roo,.. I've read many good threads on this subject,. just try a search and maybe you can decide if he can be rehabbed or if he's gumbo!

 

[WhetzelMomma]

If your hens are coming home to roost in the coop at night, they know where home is. No need to pen them up. Just put some one golf ball in a couple nests. This will attract your chickens. It's instinct for them to lay where other eggs have been laid. The golf ball serves the purpose of "that other hen laid here" and will encourage them to lay where you'd like them to. It's not fool proof, but it works pretty well! As you've been told... there is no training them to lay before you let them out... but there IS a chance you can "help" them!! If you want to be SURE everyone sees the golf balls, keeping them enclosed for a day or so will help. That way, everyone has a chance to see the dummy eggs.

HERE is a post that I have used to keep my Rooster in check... https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=4810

 

[mrsp523]

I've read some really good articles on taming down an aggressive roo. I do believe one important part is picking him up regulary and walking around with him with the girls in tow, having a conversation with him that you are the true master. Humility is a great thing

And thank you for asking the egg laying question...cause I was wondering myself too. We all start somewhere and only learn by those that have learned before us.