What time do chickens lay eggs??

[DarleneE]

Ooooh boy I don't envy you there! How did they send you big chickens in the mail? I've NEVER understood that? What about food, water, getting tossed around? Oh MY, my thoughts are endless!! Thank GOODNESS they were OK!! Well, I guess you have to keep them separate but yet where they can see and meet each other for a good while according to what I've read here?? Wow..best of luck with all that!! I'm sure it'll all work out for you in a little time.. just be patient!!

 

[JennaLynn122]

Ooooh boy I don't envy you there! How did they send you big chickens in the mail? I've NEVER understood that? What about food, water, getting tossed around? Oh MY, my thoughts are endless!! Thank GOODNESS they were OK!! Well, I guess you have to keep them separate but yet where they can see and meet each other for a good while according to what I've read here?? Wow..best of luck with all that!! I'm sure it'll all work out for you in a little time.. just be patient!!

You express ship them and have contact with the post master to ship adult birds. Food and water isnt a big deal with express shipping being so fast.

 

[DarleneE]

Do they ship and arrive the SAME day? Otherwise food and water would be necessary wouldn't it? What type container are they in? A box would get so hot here in Florida. I just think it's kinda cruel..they've gotta be scared to death.. I personally couldn't do it.. but to each there own, I'm not trying to be rude or knock anyone for it, as I know it's done everyday and most chickens are fine.

 

[missnu01]

When a pullet's comb starts to redden and Wattles start to develop, and my roosters start following the little girls around, or I find roosters in nest boxes then I know they are getting ready to lay. I've never noticed any of mine squatting.
Saw a rooster in the nest box last week so I'm hoping it won't be too much longer before my red sex links start laying. They are just getting red. It's still about a month out though because the EE roosters I got at the same time aren't crowing yet and boys develop faster than girls. Then again I have so many adult roosters already that the little guys might never crow...
Either way I'm waiting and waiting. I'm just hoping they start this year.
This next year I am going to somehow start hatching eggs in october-december, that way the chicks will be starting to lay come spring time. I hate hate hate getting chickens in spring and having to wait until next spring to get some eggs.
But it is hard to find eggs to hatch in winter. Maybe I will run some lights in my coop and fool my hens this year. Just add a few extra hours of light so I can build my layers for spring.

 

[bruceha2000]

So Thursday as I was working on that play yard I got a call from the post office the 3 EEs were there. Slap up the fence and go get the hens. Weird thing now is One of the EEs, her 3 days is showing more sign of laying. And I'm betting she'll have a green egg. Getting the bunch happy integrated is a bit tricky.

BETTING? or HOPING?
Because I do not know of any way to determine the color an EE will lay OTHER than knowing the parentage. Unless one is a purebred Araucana or Ameraucana and the other known white or brown layer breed or mix (though all in the mix must be either white or brown breeds), you get what you get.

You express ship them and have contact with the post master to ship adult birds. Food and water isnt a big deal with express shipping being so fast.

You should contact the PM for chicks as well, they like to know when live animals are coming. My guess is that the stress on anything other than a day old chick is still pretty high even with express. And express 'time' depends on distance. Taking an adult chicken to the PO in the morning isn't going to guarantee it gets somewhere the same day. In fact I would guess same day is not very likely at all unless the distance is pretty short and both the sender and recipient are not way out in the boonies. My wife is a Postal Clerk and has dealt with chicks, ducklings and bees. She only started back in November so she hasn't seen any turkey poults yet but I bet she does later this summer. Only having seen the customer side of the counter at the PO, I have found (and so has SHE!) that the PO is WAY more complicated than I would have ever imagined.

Either way I'm waiting and waiting. I'm just hoping they start this year.
This next year I am going to somehow start hatching eggs in october-december, that way the chicks will be starting to lay come spring time. I hate hate hate getting chickens in spring and having to wait until next spring to get some eggs.
But it is hard to find eggs to hatch in winter. Maybe I will run some lights in my coop and fool my hens this year. Just add a few extra hours of light so I can build my layers for spring.

Really? My 2 day old chicks came on June 15, 2012. The first to lay was early Nov, the last early Jan. Seems like a spring chick would lay well before the following spring.

Mine laid through their first winter as expected and most slacked off big time after their first moult last fall. Don't know how much was based on the "norm" that most don't lay in the winter after they moult and how much was that plus lack of light. Most of them started back up mid Feb. My girls will hang out on free room and board until they die of natural causes. I figure (but with no knowledge of same) that they will lay more years if they get their natural winter rest period so I have chosen to not add light to force laying (they 'need' 12 if not 14 hours, if youdo it, add in the morning, not at night). Though I have to say, seeing all your chickens in the coop and getting 0 to 1 or 2 eggs a day for weeks is a bummer. And I only got that because my remaining Partridge Chantecler moulted in July!, started laying again the end of August and never stopped (until she went broody again last week

) and my smaller Black Australorp didn't moult until the end of January!!! All mine seemed to stop laying about a week before their feathers started flying off.

Bruce

 

[katekearby]

not really concerned myself too much of the color, would like one of the 3 to lay green, I'm kind of thinking , guessing because of the color of Gertie's legs.

 

[katekearby]

Do they ship and arrive the SAME day? Otherwise food and water would be necessary wouldn't it? What type container are they in? A box would get so hot here in Florida. I just think it's kinda cruel..they've gotta be scared to death.. I personally couldn't do it.. but to each there own, I'm not trying to be rude or knock anyone for it, as I know it's done everyday and most chickens are fine.

I was worried too, they ship them with food, a gel pack or slices of apple, they have a special shipping box. These EE girls left Ohio at 10am Wed and were here about 9am Thursday, USPS they seem to treat them very well. The last set came from Waco TX and the post office called me at 6am when they got there to come get them. All arrived happy and healthy, these from 2 different hatcheries. I couldn't risk a Roo, I wanted specific breeds, I didn't want to go thru the whole fuzzy chick deal.

The advise of both hatcheries is to give them some electrolyte sweet water, food and let them have a day or 2 to relax and settle in. The only issues I'm having is the 4 older accepting and being nice to the 3 younger. (25weeks and 18weeks) The 'pecking' order stuff isn't too violent, and it has only been 4 days.

The post office told me the only time it got crazy was when someone ordered some grown roosters and they couldn't get anyone to answer the phone, said it was very noisey for a while and the postal carrier wasn't looking forward to the music in his truck for the morning. ;-)

I asked several people about this process prior to making the plan which took over 6 months from the time we decided to get hens and started building the coop til now. I am glad I found BYC to help with the odd questions that have come up since. It's been 30years since I've had hens.

 

[DarleneE]

Well that all sounds very humane and much better than what I'd imagined..Thank God!! I'm VERY glad all is going well so far!! Best of luck to you!!

 

[missnu01]

 
So Thursday as I was working on that play yard I got a call from the post office the 3 EEs were there.  Slap up the fence and go get the hens.  Weird thing now is One of the EEs, her 3 days is showing more sign of laying.  And I'm betting she'll have a green egg.  Getting the bunch happy integrated is a bit tricky.

BETTING? or HOPING?
Because I do not know of any way to determine the color an EE will lay OTHER than knowing the parentage. Unless one is a purebred Araucana or Ameraucana and the other  known white or brown layer breed or mix (though all in the mix must be either white or brown breeds), you get what you get.

 
You express ship them and have contact with the post master to ship adult birds. Food and water isnt a big deal with express shipping being so fast.

You should contact the PM for chicks as well, they like to know when live animals are coming. My guess is that the stress on anything other than a day old chick is still pretty high even with express. And express 'time' depends on distance. Taking an adult chicken to the PO in the morning isn't going to guarantee it gets somewhere the same day. In fact I would guess same day is not very likely at all unless the distance is pretty short and both the sender and recipient are not way out in the boonies. My wife is a Postal Clerk and has dealt with chicks, ducklings and bees. She only started back in November so she hasn't seen any turkey poults yet but I bet she does later this summer. Only having seen the customer side of the counter at the PO, I have found (and so has SHE!) that the PO is WAY more complicated than I would have ever imagined.

Either way I'm waiting and waiting. I'm just hoping they start this year.

This next year I am going to somehow start hatching eggs in october-december, that way the chicks will be starting to lay come spring time. I hate hate hate getting chickens in spring and having to wait until next spring to get some eggs.

But it is hard to find eggs to hatch in winter. Maybe I will run some lights in my coop and fool my hens this year. Just add a few extra hours of light so I can build my layers for spring.

Really? My 2 day old chicks came on June 15, 2012. The first to lay was early Nov, the last early Jan.  Seems like a spring chick would lay well before the following spring.  

Mine laid through their first winter as expected and most slacked off big time after their first moult last fall. Don't know how much was based on the "norm" that most don't lay in the winter after they moult and how much was that plus lack of light. Most of them started back up mid Feb. My girls will hang out on free room and board until they die of natural causes. I figure (but with no knowledge of same) that they will lay more years if they get their natural winter rest period so I have chosen to not add light to force laying (they 'need' 12 if not 14 hours, if youdo it, add in the morning, not at night). Though I have to say, seeing all your chickens in the coop and getting 0 to 1 or 2 eggs a day for weeks is a bummer. And I only got that because my remaining Partridge Chantecler moulted in July!, started laying again the end of August and never stopped (until she went broody again last week  ) and my smaller Black Australorp didn't moult until the end of January!!! All mine seemed to stop laying about a week before their feathers started flying off.

Bruce

Last year I bought most of my chicks in late february, early March and they laid for a bit but by November the eggs were slowing and slowing. So I sold most of my flock. Keeping only 4 hens, and those 4 hens didn't lay one single egg until late february this year. So what I want is one hatch some chicks that will be coming into lay right as the egg weather hits. Also one thing I'm starting to wonder about, I don't think I've had a chicken molt yet. I have one hen that is 2, and the others are about a year and a half, so unless they very very slowly and unnoticeably molted this winter it just hasn't happened. Lol.

 

[sirrahm]

They should start laying when they're about 5 months old a few breeds lay earlier like the black sex link. Just be patient they'll do you right... Enjoy..