Still no eggs :(

[lynda66]

Apparently free rangers eat more food- burning it up I suppose gallivanting around!

mine are eating much less now they are getting more excercise, but i think maybe before food was more focussed cos they were inside, now they seem to prefer soil

[Jimster]

Woohoo!!! Got eggs!! my wife found an egg in the Chicken run today, then found another in the Garden!

The eggs where 61g and 60g, is this normail size? The eggs are light so guess they came from one of the light sussex girls, and not the well summers, (even though the well summers are older)

How can we encourage the girls to lay in their coup?

[Eyren]

Good news, Jimster!

Don't worry too much about them not laying in the coop - the first couple of eggs often catch them by surprise! Once they get to recognising that "just about to lay" sensation in their tummies, they will know to make their way back to the nestbox.

If they really don't catch on after a few more days, you could try leaving a fake egg (or a pingpong or golf ball) in the nestbox to give them a hint

[Flummery]

Whoop whoop! Well done those hens! I think a medium egg - the sort you'd use to bake - is about 60g. Their eggs will get bigger though.

They reckon you can give them the idea of laying in the nest boxes by putting a golf ball or china egg in - I think Nicos used a wooden one!

Glad you didn't get fed up and give them away?

[Jimster]

There was never as thought of giving the girls away, best pets in the world. Wouldn't mind if they never laid and egg.

[MaureenHall]

See, just like Bephlam, wait for ages then two come at once Well done your girls

[Glutton4...]

Oooh lucky you - So the question is; boiled fried or omelette?

[tillysmum]

Mine have just started laying this week and have been using the floor of the coop (and our neighbour's ornamental grass when one escaped!). But today one was in the nest box. I have put a rubber egg in there (think OH got it from agricultural merchants), as suggested by this wonderful forum and that seems to have helped.
We now have three laying, the first eggs were 60g-ish, but we have had 2 whoppers at 70g (looked like they were a little hard to part with!). We're having omlette tonight, so we'll see what the big ones look like inside.

[Jimster]

I had some ornimntal eggs, so these where placed into the coup yesterday. This morning when I came to let the chickens out of their run, I noticed there was only 3 girls, one was still in the coup. As soon as she heard me she came running out, they have never done this before maybe she was sitting on the egg??

Fingers crossed I can find todays egg easily enough and the other girls start laying soon.

Do chickens lay there eggs around the same time each day??

[Nicos]

2 Egggsss...yyyeeessss!!!!!!

Yippee!

Oh you must be thrilled!

OK- wooden egg ( or whatever)....mine certainly realised where to lay when they were there. If I removed them, one would nip off into the herbaceous border and hide hers
If I left them, then the older ones decided it'd be good to try and hatch them.
So- keep an eye on what they're doing with the eggs.
If the chooks start to fluff up when you go near them, then the false eggs might be making them feel too broody!
If undisturbed my chooks can take up to an hour to lay an egg. Different times of the day- ut tending to get later each day and then after tea time they'd miss a day.
I've only had mine since November- but that was the routine they were getting into before they all went broody

Exciting isn't it???

[lynda66]

apparently it normally takes 25 hours to lay an egg, (well i don't think i imagined it)

well done your girls

[Flummery]

That's true Lynda. They reckon a chicken's day-length clock is an hour or so longer than ours so if they lay at 8.00 one morning it will be a little after 9.00 the next and so on. Eventually they have a day off to catch up. If they were any brighter they'd be confused!

[Jimster]

woohoo! Just asked my dad to go around and check on the girls while I was in work, he found Tikka (one of the well summers) was in the nest box sat next to one of the fake eggs. Maybe she's laying?

He then checked the gatden and then found another light egg in the border. 3 eggs so far this week

[Nicos]

...you're on a roll now then!

[di]

Excellent news!!Well Done them chooks!!!