Sat.morn on the 21st of july ,,,I found, what looked to be a burst egg in my coop!
Now ,,,My oldest hens were born on March 5th,,,Now! I know I can count,,,and these RI reds are only 18 or so weeks old!
I was not prepared for laying this early!I have not even got nest boxes built yet!
My chickens hang out under their coop, most of the day,,,because it is cool and shaded.
I noticed that my biggest red was not eating ,and just sitting by herself sat.
I think that she had expelled a soft or broken egg, sometime fri. night. Any way she just sat and looked like she was trying to do something all day sun. and mon.!!
Monday night I decided to look under the coop!(They have a 4'x 8' of shade and cool, under the coop!
LOL!!! I found 2 pretty brown eggsunder there! I did not expect them to start laying so soon!
Taking off tommorrow to bulid them some nest boxes!
The sick hen is OK now! I think she has expelled what was there,inside her ,and she is good now!
Had me puzzled for a bit though!
RI Reds started laying!
Yaaaaaaaay!!!! Way to go Turkeybeard! Congratulations! Hah hahahaha! You feel like you laid them dont you!!! Just as proud! I know the feeling!
Im still waiting on the first egg from mine,that were born in March, It looks like you got some mighty precocious Hens!!!
E.
Eufaula...laid off woork today ,so as to buld them some nest boxes.
I built 3 12"x12" boxes this morn. I put them in the coop, and imediately they started investigating...My largest lorpe that I got from you,,,she would go in each box and check out ...I had to go to town,,,when I came back she had layed a pretty brown w/white speckles egg in one of the boxes. Less than an hour from when I put them in..
I ate one last night, when I broke the egg it surprised me ...it was a double yoke! I scrambled it up w/butter and a little salt and pepper...WOW the flavor is 10 times better than stale store bought eggs!
Whoaaa!! Thats terrific! Nothin better than a homegrown egg ! Now Ive got to get out there and talk to my girls!
Heres some of my plastic nests! Haaaahaha! They are throw aways from about 15 years ago! Nothing like recycling! The 2 hens that are laying right now love it!
I love it , cause all I have to do is lift the plastic totes up and off for cleaning and sterilizing!
I got home about 7:00 tonite,,,and found another egg under the coop,,,not in the boxes like I had hoped! It is cool during the day under there, and they hang out mostly there!
I don't want them laying under there! Too hard to retrieve eggs!...What do I need to do to get them to lay in the boxes? The egg i got this evening was from a diff hen,,,much smaller than the others...How long can I leave eggs in the box before it becomes rotten or unedible? Does it have to do with temp?I am just throwing questions out there! I am new to this! I know that you...Lynn can help!
Wanna here something funny?
When I check on them ,,they get really verbal, they come to me and want me to pet them...when I pet them they go into a kinda squat/trance,,,they push their wing bones up and squat and kinda tremble as I pet them!!! I think they think I am their rooster!!! After I quit petting them,,they puff all up and shake like a dog shaking water off! I just don't know??? Maybe I need a real rooster? NAW!!! Too noisy!
Yep! You seem to be the team leader ! You definitely need a Roo!
Just let an egg stay in each nest and take one out each day they lay. That will mark the nest for them. I have several wooden eggs that work really well, and I also have a couple of tiny gourds that work, you are welcome to a couple if needed!
Really! Wodden eggs?
I had my second hen ,now , that has expelled an unfinished egg!
Tonite ,,she was just standing by her self,,,would not move,or respond to me or other hens...She was just standing there!!! After dark, I checked to see where she was.
She was on her perch,,,a small half dollar size soft egg below her!The same thing my big red went thru first of week.
I've got 4 eggs since last sat....I know they are still abit young,,best is yet to come!
But !! They worry me when they act like that?
Hey, I just got back home. I was at my family reunion over the weekend. Glad to hear about all the eggs that is so great! Yes I have wooden eggs , if you would like a couple , come on over and get them , you are more than welcome!
Turkeybeard, are you feeding them layer feed or otherwise making sure they have enough calcium?
Yes ,,Hart, they been on layer feed about 2 weeks now,,, been giving them oyster shells about once a week for about 6 weeks.
Eufaula... my friend that got 2 buffs and a lorp,,from you... He has gotten about 7 or 8 eggs in the last week,,,all have been single yoke. I have gotten 6 eggs in about 2 weeks,,and all but one has been big double yoke eggs..Now I am not complaining, but it is my friends buffs that started laying,,,small eggs too!
I am not here most of the day to see who is laying what! Have your lot started yet?
Hey ! Thats not fair! My girls are just growing good! Its like giving a plant too much fertilizer, they make plenty of good green leaves but no vegetables or flowers! I hadn't started my girls on egg layer, until yesterday. So now we will see!
I have 5 Dominiques and 3 Speckled Sussex and 4 Red Leghorns . I thought I was raising the Sussex and the Leghorns for a friend to get , but it seems that I will now be hanging on to them! Ive grown too attached now to let them go anywhere!
Heres a pic of the Sussex Roo, Hes not even trying to get dominate yet, cause he still lives in the coop with CockleLooLoo. Oh yes I forgot to mention I also have the 4 Lt. Brahmas too, 1 is a male. That makes two young roosters that will have to have their own pens very very soon!
Eufaula
How many pens do you have, curious minds want to know ???
Julie =0)
Okay , Curiosity is good! LOL!!
Lets see now! Heres the Tractor. this is an early spring picture of it! right now it has a small wooden house with a tin roof under the tarp. I t is home to Uggie and PurtySang, until they get little Gremlin off on his own!
Here is a really bad picture of the 3 pens that sit side by side! they are each 10X10, with bird netting tops!
The front little house started out as a Dog house, but works better as a Bantam house!
This is the area inside the barn, for raising young birds! usually Early Spring when its still too cool for them out side !
then one more, I have a chicken coop with nests on the opposite side of the barn with an enclosed run for the older Hens and CockleLooLoo.
So I guess thats six right now! But I'm going to have to separate the Sussex , Brahmas and Leghorns from the Doms soon! So thats three more houses and runs coming really soon!