Who else is waiting for that first egg?

[Tasha1981]

My girls turned 12 weeks old on Monday. I have a ? Marked on my calendar at the 16 week mark as my EARLIEST possible date for my hatchery RIR. Well tonight as I let them out for some free range time I noticed that one of my girls has a much more red comb than the other girls.

I'm super excited about that 16 week mark now. It's looking more and more possible. 4 more weeks!

 

[WVduckchick]

My girls turned 12 weeks old on Monday. I have a ? Marked on my calendar at the 16 week mark as my EARLIEST possible date for my hatchery RIR. Well tonight as I let them out for some free range time I noticed that one of my girls has a much more red comb than the other girls.

I'm super excited about that 16 week mark now. It's looking more and more possible. 4 more weeks!

Oh my, you are in for some excruciating days... Lol

 

[Tasha1981]

Oh my, you are in for some excruciating days... Lol

Tell me about it. 16 weeks was a HOPE until tonight. Now it's a full fledged goal. 4 weeks is going to feel like a year.

 

[microchick]

Hi mrsjonis and welcome to the flock!

My hens did the same thing at first. I blocked the nesting boxes off till they got older and they got used to sleeping on the roost. When I uncovered them I put a few artificial eggs in each nest....they kicked those out along with the hay. I think what really helped the hens was Our Buff O rooster who climbed in the nesting boxes and busily arranged hay and talked to the ladies that were watching him. I caught him in the act one day....

 

[abbyok]

Week 19/20 red sex links and nothing....... I let them free range in our suburban yard (not to many places to hide eggs) bright red combs. They don't squat for me - but they are generally too interested to see if I have treats. So, should I lock them into the coop/tiny run until they start laying just to make sure they start using the nesting boxes? I have put in golf balls in the nesting boxes - but it doesn't look like they are even curious......sigh......

 

[Oliver Douglas]

Gave the little buzzards (22 weeks) a nice dog crate filled with pine shavings and golf balls to entice them. Became their spa....nothing yet. Time for some tough love....a stern lecture and an empty KFC container with an arrow pointing into it, with a sign stating...."you're next..."

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

So I've heard that br are good layers... are they slow starters? I have 2 and I know for sure one is laying, I think they both are. One of them is laying on the floor of the coop for some unknown reason. I'm getting at most 2 eggs a week from them. Do I need to change something?

 

[junebuggena]

By br, do you mean Barred Rock? I have 6 of them. 2 started laying at 19 weeks, the rest were laying by 22 weeks. Only one laid everyday at first. But they were all pretty regular after about 2 weeks. Dummy eggs in the nest boxes encourage them to use them. It's not unusual for new layers to not lay in the nest boxes at first. It can take some time for them to figure egg laying out. Do they free range? Is there a possibility of a hidden nest somewhere?

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

By br, do you mean Barred Rock? I have 6 of them. 2 started laying at 19 weeks, the rest were laying by 22 weeks. Only one laid everyday at first. But they were all pretty regular after about 2 weeks. Dummy eggs in the nest boxes encourage them to use them. It's not unusual for new layers to not lay in the nest boxes at first. It can take some time for them to figure egg laying out. Do they free range? Is there a possibility of a hidden nest somewhere?

Yes they are barred rock. We were letting them out in a fenced in area. But it is 100% open and no where to hide eggs. I stopped letting them out of the run when someone or maybe 2 birds laid 2 soft shelled eggs in to roost in the same night (I have 8 pullets totalk mixed flock). Of the 8 I have 1 that lays daily and 2 others that are regularly laying and 3 I know for sure are not laying. Now they are only eating the layer feed, a little bit of scratch, and the occasional zucchini from the garden. I have sifted in the bedding of the nesting boxes and moved stuff around haven't found in hidden eggs.

 

[Diney]

Found this one on ramp going into coop this morning and also found yoke spots in one of the nesting boxes... My oh my are there chicks ever going to quit stressing me out...