Weekly Growth

[Azulette]

Thank you for sharing the pictures. Very interesting.

Thanks! It's been a fun journey for me and I figured these pics might help someone else too - its a win-win!

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

And BAM! We have 1st egg yesterday! 98% sure it was from BCM 1 (18W). It's not as brown as I thought it would be but maybe things will change (I thought the deeper colors are when they start laying then they progressively get lighter?)? . She laid it from the top roosting bar onto the droppings board in the coop Hopefully today's will be in the nesting box

View attachment 3558586

congratulations on the first egg!!

 

[Azulette]

congratulations on the first egg!!

Thank you! She did all the work, I'm just the proud mama

 

[Predoggg]

Congratulations on the first egg. It always feels good when they start.

 

[Azulette]

Small teaser/update- I'm still here, hanging out with my girls as often as I can, and happy to say that 9/10 girls are laying by <20W!

I'm beyond pleased with how my little backyard rainbow is coming along



Longer post coming soon!

 

[Azulette]

Sorry guys, it’s been a busy few weeks! I’ve been taking the photos but not uploading them; this one will be a long one!

I’m happy to report that we are now SWIMMING in pullet eggs! But more on that below. As of now (19W/20W), I’d say 9/10 gals are laying judging from the egg songs, squatting, time spent in the nesting box, etc. I’ve downloaded Flockstar and am using the free version to keep up with the metrics…. and of course MANY egg photos We've been averaging about 4/5 eggs per day.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been able to make educated guesses/deductions on who is laying which eggs based on egg color, shape, and who I’ve observed in the nesting boxes.

- OE2 (19W & 20W)


19W (started laying)


20W - Such a big bird and a total queen/top hen. Love this bearded gal!

She laid this one first and it was speckled love at first sight (left). Her eggs have since settled into a slightly deeper greenish blue with some slightly darker blue speckles (right, 3rd one down).


- OE3 (19W & 20W)
19W (started laying)


20W

→She laid this one with a heavy bloom first (bottom left) just after 19W:


A few days later this one (right) and seems to be settling into a light olive green (bottom right):



- BCM1 (19W & 20W)
*** (started laying at 18W)

19W


20W

→ her eggs have darkened over the first couple of weeks and is now about a 4/5 on the maran color chart, usually with some speckles


- BCM2 (19W & 20W)

19W (started laying)


20W

→You can see how the eggs are darkening, but they don't seem to be as dark as BCM1s. They started out quite the torpedo/long oval shape but they’re starting to plump out a bit more in the middle (top row).



Her first egg was a bit tie-dyed (and lightly pecked!)



There is such a size difference between BCM1 & BCM2:


- PBE1 (18W & 19W)

18W (started laying)


19W

→ She’s been laying a light blue egg with a bit of a densely speckled (think pointillism) white bloom



- PBE2 (18W & 19W)

18W


19W (started laying)

→ This one lays a lovely blue egg (middle).


Her egg (left) this morning was looking considerably larger than PBE3's (right)


- PBE3 (18W & 19W)

18W (started laying)


19W

→She’s been laying a bluish/greenish egg (the row of eggs in the upper left. PBE4’s egg is the light blue one top right). The greens are all from the olive eggers


For her first egg she “flew the run” during free range time and made herself most comfortable in a nearby 5 gallon bucket - you can just spy her egg left of her head.


- PBE4 (18W & 19W)

18W


19W (started laying)

→ She’s been laying these super petite powdery blue ones (bottom of the stack):


- SLRW1 (18W & 19W)
18W


19W
→ not as red in the face and featuring smaller waddles and comb than SLRW2 (at the moment at least)

- SLRW2 (18W & 19W)
18W


19W (started laying) - puffier comb and waddles have filled in a bit more. Doesn’t squat for me though.

→egg shard found in the bottom of the coop during 19W (vs. BCM2’s)


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Already jockeying for position in their favorite nesting box:


Enjoying a zucchini:


These eggs were well worth the wait and taste AMAZING!




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Learn With Me:

• Set up a hardware cloth “lid” over the oyster shells so you don't need to refill it every other day. They were spilling the entire thing in less than a day or two. Now i refill it twice a month!

• Black Copper Marans eggs “can” get progressively darker when the hen starts laying but it’s not guaranteed. I was a bit sad with BCM1s terracotta egg, my first egg, and with BCM2s “grocery store brown” first egg as they weren’t as dark as I had anticipated. Sure enough, both gal’s eggs have darkened quite a bit! Maybe to a 4 or 5 within the first 2 weeks? I did the backyard chickens “research deep dive” and here are some similar stories: [Link 1], [Link 2], and [Link 3]
• Pullet eggs: supposedly last for up to 4W or until they mature around 24W. These are 3 pullet eggs collected on Sunday, 7/9 (the white egg far left is from my neighbor's 1YO leghorn. I’d say it's an XL).

Same neighbor also has 2 EEs laying a light blue and a green egg (below).

It’s crazy how strong the lighter colors of the EE eggs come though (left) when viewed standalone. If they’re placed next to the pullet ones (right, 2 of the same ones shown above) and look so muted!
→Believe it or not, the lighting is unchanged between these 2 photos (and no filters).

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Since most of the girls are laying now, I suppose I'll target 24W for another update?

Thanks for following along with me!