Wondering if one of my Barred Rocks is almost ready to lay?

[aart]

Our chickens have been messing up the nests for months now so I don’t know how that translates in relation to egg laying, in our hens’ case anyway.

Ohhhh.....well, it only counts when the pullets are close to laying.
They aren't sleeping in the nests are they?

 

[Wynnie]

Ohhhh.....well, it only counts when the pullets are close to laying.
They aren't sleeping in the nests are they?

Ohhhh.....well, it only counts when the pullets are close to laying.
They aren't sleeping in the nests are they?

They try, but I don’t think they do. They like to perch on the edges or on top of them to sleep, but I haven’t actually seen them sleep in any of them.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They try, but I don’t think they do. They like to perch on the edges or on top of them to sleep, but I haven’t actually seen them sleep in any of them.

They really shouldn't be sleeping on or partially in them, not even for naps. Do you have roosts in your coop, and are they using them every night?

 

[Wynnie]

They really shouldn't be sleeping on or partially in them, not even for naps. Do you have roosts in your coop, and are they using them every night?

They do have roosting bars, in the form of branches cut to fit, and they don’t seem too keen on using them. I did pick up a few of my hens and place them on them to show them that they can be up there. Our chickens are big on “If I see it, I’ll do it too” and they kind of follow each other’s lead. I’m hoping they use them through the night, but I can’t be sure. They did seem to like being up there once they realized the branches were for roosting though

 

[rosemarythyme]

They do have roosting bars, in the form of branches cut to fit, and they don’t seem too keen on using them. I did pick up a few of my hens and place them on them to show them that they can be up there. Our chickens are big on “If I see it, I’ll do it too” and they kind of follow each other’s lead. I’m hoping they use them through the night, but I can’t be sure. They did seem to like being up there once they realized the branches were for roosting though

Keep up on that, might take a few days or a few weeks to retrain them to always go for the roosts. For us it's not optional, any chicken who doesn't make it up on the roost gets put up there within about 30 min after sunset.

 

[aart]

I did pick up a few of my hens and place them on them to show them that they can be up there.

Did you do this well after dark?

 

[Wynnie]

UPDATE: We got our first egg!!!!!

 

[BGcoop]

Congratulations!!

 

[Wynnie]

More eggs!