I have 4 hens that I got at the end of April as day-old chicks (originally there were 6). One is RSL, 2 are BO, and 1 is RIR. The RSL has been laying for about 14 days now. (14 eggs)
I discovered my first egg as a nest of 9.
The nest is in pine needles under a fallen branch under a sagebrush bush. I can see the nest from my yard. Each day since then I have discovered an egg in the nest, except today when I left them in the night coop/run past noon, and then egg was in the nest box.
The girls have been free ranged, and I know it is the RSL because she is the one going through the barbed wire fence to the neighbor's brushy yard where I found the nest. She was making a bee-line for it when I let them out for the day, then within 20 minutes she comes to join the others, who sometimes wait for her nearby. One of the BO's has occasionally sat on the nest for a bit, but it's always empty when she leaves. My neighbors on that side are only part-timers, visiting a few weekends during the summer.
Because RSL left the egg in the nest box today, I will leave them in the pen past noon to train her to lay in the next box instead of the neighbor's yard.
I am in the process of making a run for them in my yard, with pine trees as fence posts and a wild plum bush beside one of the trees. They love to scratch and dust bathe by the old stump beside the bush. I will move the current "coop/pen" into the run when it is completed.
I lost one hen when they were about 6 weeks old, a friend brought a dog for a visit, and I was unable to pen them before the dog got loose.
I was sad, but it was my fault for not penning them up beforehand.
The second loss was while I was on vacation. The stupid hen flew over the fence into the other neighbor's yard where one of their Schnausers proudly presented it to mom & dad in their house.
They were afraid to tell me, but practical person that I am, was only upset that they didn't have chicken dinner.
Since then I have had to prevent the girls from roosting on the fence.
They love to tease the Schnausers. My 2 Chihuahua mix mutts have no problems with the chickens, and the chickens have no problem with them.
I also have 6 mutt chicks from a surprise clutch from a friend of a friend.
I have had them since they were less than a week old, and are about 8 weeks old now. They are almost fully feathered, all different in appearance. The rooster from the flock they came from was a RSL, and the hens the eggs could have come from included BO, RIR, leghorn, and a couple others. At least 2 have bumps on the back of their legs, telling me that there will be at least one chicken dinner in a couple months.
I hope to eventually have all my lower yard fenced in for the chickens so they can free range most of the time, and be self sustaining (keeping a rooster from the mutts). I plan plenty of bushes for the yard as well, to provide hiding spaces from the bald eagles that we have in our area.
I am curious as to how much longer it may take for the BO's and the RIR to decide to lay eggs.
I discovered my first egg as a nest of 9.
Because RSL left the egg in the nest box today, I will leave them in the pen past noon to train her to lay in the next box instead of the neighbor's yard.
I lost one hen when they were about 6 weeks old, a friend brought a dog for a visit, and I was unable to pen them before the dog got loose.
I also have 6 mutt chicks from a surprise clutch from a friend of a friend.
I hope to eventually have all my lower yard fenced in for the chickens so they can free range most of the time, and be self sustaining (keeping a rooster from the mutts). I plan plenty of bushes for the yard as well, to provide hiding spaces from the bald eagles that we have in our area.
I am curious as to how much longer it may take for the BO's and the RIR to decide to lay eggs.
