Who else is waiting for that first egg?

[Hatching]

Have you both ever seen a egg? I bet they are handing them some where.. You would be surprised where they will go to hide the prize from you. I found this after noticing our girl, " Blondie" had bright red comb..

Finally one day we had a duck egg at the bottom, then 2 friend's gave us egg's.. The chocolate spekeled ones are jumbo quail.. From another BYC member. The white ones that have a blue & pink hue are from a friend that rescues wild bird's for re- release.. They are wild dove egg's, which we cooked up for our dog's.. .. Then our flock's egg's are at the top.. BTW, our duck's egg's are way better than our chicken egg's!! plus they don't get so many different ailments like chicken's..

No, I haven't seen any eggs. They can't be hiding them, their coop is attached to their run so they have no place to lay but in the run, or the nest boxes, or on the coop floor. I thought maybe they were eating them but I've never seen yolk or egg shell anywhere. I don't think I'm going to get eggs too soon because they stopped their egg songs.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Quote:
I simply reach in there and remove the hen. I do get bit by the broody ones. This one will draw blood. I now have nests that are lined with dishpans from the dollar store. I can just pull the dishpan out hen and all, take the hen out, get the eggs, put hen and dishpan back in. Yes they stay broody until either something hatches or enough time goes by that nature tells them nothing is going to hatch. I had one hen sit for almost 90 days solid.

If you do end up with a stubborn broody it is important to feed them IN the nest. I give mine high protein treats in the morning before I go to work. Scrambled eggs or some meat scraps along with the regular feed. Oatmeal is a great motivator to eat and the important stuff can be mixed in. Some will sit so tight they can lose weight and get sick sitting too long.
I make mine go out into the run when I pass out treats. No treat hits the ground until all broody ones are locked out of the coop. Sometimes they eat sometimes they sulk around.

 

[21hens-incharge]

If they are laying soft shelled or shell less eggs you wont find evidence at all. They will eat the shell and every bit of the egg if they are eating them.

With no where to hide the eggs there is one thing that comes to mind.
Are the nest boxes nice and dark? I had one hen that would NOT lay in the nest until after I painted the inside a dark blue. In fact she laid one egg than went month without laying a second egg. I thought I got a dud hen until I painted the boxes on a Saturday and Sunday she was in there laying an egg. She laid quite well after that.
Weird how nature can shut them down if conditions are not prime.

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

I simply reach in there and remove the hen. I do get bit by the broody ones. This one will draw blood. I now have nests that are lined with dishpans from the dollar store. I can just pull the dishpan out hen and all, take the hen out, get the eggs, put hen and dishpan back in. Yes they stay broody until either something hatches or enough time goes by that nature tells them nothing is going to hatch. I had one hen sit for almost 90 days solid.

If you do end up with a stubborn broody it is important to feed them IN the nest. I give mine high protein treats in the morning before I go to work. Scrambled eggs or some meat scraps along with the regular feed. Oatmeal is a great motivator to eat and the important stuff can be mixed in. Some will sit so tight they can lose weight and get sick sitting too long.
I make mine go out into the run when I pass out treats. No treat hits the ground until all broody ones are locked out of the coop. Sometimes they eat sometimes they sulk around.

If I get a broody one I'll just breed her. If she wants to be a mommy who am I to stop her. We have a rooster he is just not with the ladies just yet. He is full grown and I don't think they are quite big enough to fend him off if need be. He's a big ol boy. I think in another month or so we will let him join them.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I would let mine hatch chicks if I could have a rooster too. I am glad you can have a roo where you are. Nothing like a mama hen with her chicks.

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

I would let mine hatch chicks if I could have a rooster too. I am glad you can have a roo where you are. Nothing like a mama hen with her chicks.

I would just love that! We are country folk so no one cares about his crowing. Him and the neighbors rooster play American Idol in the morning. Lol he was actually given to us... package deal 3 trucks loads of manure and a rooster lol

 

[21hens-incharge]

I really miss living in the country. I had the sweetest little bantam cochin roo back then. I could hear him crowing from 3 miles away. It was the silliest crow lol.
Kind of sing song like.

err.... er.. er ..er ERRRRR er

The capitol letter part was higher pitch and longer.

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

I really miss living in the country. I had the sweetest little bantam cochin roo back then. I could hear him crowing from 3 miles away. It was the silliest crow lol.
Kind of sing song like.

err.... er.. er ..er ERRRRR er


The capitol letter part was higher pitch and longer.

Our rooster had kind of a weird crow the first few weeks we had him. He came from a farm with many other rooster and he was not the top stud. But now that he is he belts it out. Well I mean he's right below me the mother hen...

 

[21hens-incharge]

Scooters was that way the whole time we had him. (5 years)

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

I just can't wait to get him integrated into the flock. I think he's going to do so good. We have these 4x4x4 pins that are portable for letting the girls safely forage and we had moved one out in front of his pin and he was giggling and dancing trying his hardest to get to the hens.