whats the earliest youve had a chicken lay?

[rubbertoe9999]

Just to let you know... we looked in on our chicks tonight, as we were preoccupied when it got dark, and the chicks were already in the coop on their roost. We wanted to make sure that they were all safe inside so we peeked through the window by their roost. You mentioned making some more roosts for your chicks. We have 8 birds and their roost is a 3 tier approx 36"x36". When we peered through the window, 5 of them were snuggled together on the top roost, 2 were on the middle roost and 1 was on the bottom. The majority either like being higher up or snuggled close together, since there was plenty of room for them on the other 2 roosts. I suppose it could have been the fact that we left the hardwire covered window open to a height just under the 3rd roost so that the lower 2 roosts were more level with the window opening. Perhaps they feel more vuneralbe on the lower roosts, should a predator pass by the window and see them.

actually as far as I know and learned as a newbie chickeneer they will roost at the highest point they can and if their huddling together its to keep warm I have three levels of roost in my coop and they seem to either use the top one or the edges of the nesting boxes

 

[ozark_chickies]

I have OEG bantams hatched March 1, 2012 that are laying now. They are 17 weeks old. One of my hens, hatched February 20, 2012 laid 7 eggs, and is now broody.

 

[rlhagan56]

Well darn it. We don't have a TSC so I got my girls at CAL on March 1st as they were unpacking the chicks. A Buff Orp, Barred Rock, 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes, and a EE. I had the nest boxes covered until two weeks ago *just in case*. Still nothing. I let them free range when I am home, wait - let me rephrase that. I let them follow me around since they think that I am the mealworm vending machine, and had them on good chick starter then switched to layer pellets, they get bits of good kitchen scraps, most of which they still won't touch, but still nothing. They have the ultimate henhouse, roomy, insulated, airy, big perch they love, yet they still stay out until about 9pm in the run. But still no eggs anywhere.

Now years ago in AZ we threw a bunch of mixed small hens I inherited into a large uncovered pen with a three sided shelter with goats. They started laying at about 15 weeks and seemed to never quit, even in summer temps. I had eggs coming out of my ears. And in 8 years never once had one predator bother them. Maybe they had more of the pioneer spirit.

 

[1chicklady]

actually as far as I know and learned as a newbie chickeneer they will roost at the highest point they can and if their huddling together its to keep warm I have three levels of roost in my coop and they seem to either use the top one or the edges of the nesting boxes

I partially agree with your statement that the chicks may roost at the highest point and they do huddle together in cool or cold weather to keep warm, especially at a very young age, but in our TEXAS July evening heat, this is not the case with our chicks since they're almost fully matured. As I posted before... we also had 1 on the bottom roost and 2 on the 2nd roost which is up against the open window. If they were huddling together to keep warm, surely those 3 chicks would have also huddled together on one of the other roost, would they not?

 

[rubbertoe9999]

I partially agree with your statement that the chicks may roost at the highest point and they do huddle together in cool or cold weather to keep warm, especially at a very young age, but in our TEXAS July evening heat, this is not the case with our chicks since they're almost fully matured. As I posted before... we also had 1 on the bottom roost and 2 on the 2nd roost which is up against the open window. If they were huddling together to keep warm, surely those 3 chicks would have also huddled together on one of the other roost, would they not?

yeah thats true maybe they all want to be near the open window to feel the cool draft diffrent breeds need diffrent maintenance maybe some needed to cool and some like the warmth also since these are hierarchy birds it may be that they roost depending on their levels i.e. top hen all the way to bottom of the flock idk just a thought i love having chickens its fun and my family enjoys every aspect of it

 

[1chicklady]

yeah thats true maybe they all want to be near the open window to feel the cool draft diffrent breeds need diffrent maintenance maybe some needed to cool and some like the warmth also since these are hierarchy birds it may be that they roost depending on their levels i.e. top hen all the way to bottom of the flock idk just a thought i love having chickens its fun and my family enjoys every aspect of it

My husband and I love our chicks too and I'm pretty sure they are very fond of us. They are like children in so many ways. Tonight one of our chicks, the one we call Nattie who talks all the time, ended up with a fly trap attached to her wing and her neck. As I walked outside to lock them in their run, Nattie comes running up to me like something was really after her. Couldn't figure out what the problem was until I got closer and noticed the fly trap caught her better than it catches the flies. No... really the CatchMaster fly traps we get at Tractor Supply are sticky and not slippery. That was a problem of course, when it was attached to Nattie's feathers. After I managed to pull it off her, with a few feathers I might add, as I walked back to the house to get something to get the glue off her feathers, she was motionless in the strangest squatting pose. I wondered if she was about to pop out an egg. Finally with Tom's, my husband, help and a little light olive oil, I managed to free her feathers of the glue. Don't know how well that oil is going to mix with the sand she will bathe in when she arises in this morning. I never thought of the pecking order having to do with their roosting positions but you could be on to something there. Ours really don't seem to have a pecking order but Suzie, our Buff, is the bully of the flock. They all get along splendidly and have from the day we brought them all home together from TSC and that is probably why they don't seem to have a pecking order. Suzie only bullies when she wants something that one of the other girls are eating. She is a fatty and when she runs, she reminds us of a chubby adolescent waddling from side to side as she runs.

For three days we were being shorted on the number of eggs they had started out laying. We went from 6 a day to 1 or 2, at most. As I was walking by our fig tree a couple of days ago, I just happened to glance underneath the tree where the chicks have wallowed out holes. I saw an egg laying on the ground and as I walked around to the side where I could easily retreive the egg. By chance, I looked over to the side of the house where the chicks sometime hang out in an extension ladder we have laying against the house. Boy what a surprise I got. The ladder had become their makeshift nesting boxes rather than the nice indoor boxes they had been laying in 3 days prior. There was a stash of 12 eggs(2 huge Dbl yolk eggs, one 2 3/4" long and one 2 1/2" long but fatter) nicely placed in between the rungs of the ladder. Then I looked to the side of those and found two more eggs, each in its own rung of the ladder. We've now started keeping them in their run until early afternoon hoping to get them back into their nesting boxes again. I check for eggs several times during the day in all the wrong places, as well as their nesting boxes. We gathered only four eggs today so we shall see if they have found another place to lay their eggs. Their free range time may be shortened drastically until they learn to only use their boxes, which may never happen. Some of them must be laying somewhere else because we've only gathered 36 eggs in the 8 days they've been laying and we should have gathered at least 48.

 

[Joe.G]

1chicklady, there is a good chance you will not get the same exact number of eggs per day, also what has worked for me is if there laying places besides the nest box, try putting golf balls in there boxes, or what I used was Guniea eggs since there very hard and I am not worried about them breaking.

 

[1chicklady]

1chicklady, there is a good chance you will not get the same exact number of eggs per day, also what has worked for me is if there laying places besides the nest box, try putting golf balls in there boxes, or what I used was Guniea eggs since there very hard and I am not worried about them breaking.

Agreed that we may not get the exact number of eggs per day but we haven't gotten an egg from our Buff since she laid the 2 Dbl Yolks in the ladder rung sometime between the 3rd and the 6th. I'm sure that she is laying somewhere but just don't know where. She has laid in the nesting box but not currently. We have porcelain eggs in the nesting boxes so they know what the boxes are for and they have used them prior to going rogue. We've been getting 4 eggs when we leave them in the coop & run until early afternoon. I still believe that since they free range, they are dropping their eggs outside the nesting boxes. Too lazy to make the trip back into the coop or stashing is something we have to figure out. Why aren't the chicks cackling when they lay an egg? Our rooster is the one who cackles instead of the chicks. Is this normal? Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[NuAgePaulBunyun]

YAY ... we got our first egg two days ago. odd though she (which ever one of the 4 hens) skipped a day then laid another. i found another one this morning, but it was busted. seems she is refusing to goto nesting boxes. i have 2 sets now. one set is up high where the rest on the roosts and the other is about 12 inches off the ground. i guess there needs to be a bit or re-arranging to ensure the safety..

we have been waiting to use this backet for quite some time. 7:

 

[Chickaroos]

I got my first egg the day one of my 12 girls turned 17 weeks! They are 19 weeks old now and we're on a roll. I have two, maybe three layers!