Topic: the first egg yipee

[sunloving]

Just wanted the share my delight in the first egg from my three sussex bantams.

Now just need to find a small egg cup.

Despite it pouring down all day and there being a nice dark dry nest box in the coop the egg was laid on the grass in the run. Ive put egg shaped stones in the boxes to try to encourage them to lay there but they have no older hen to follow so im wondering what else can be done to encourage them to lay in the boxes?

Is there a time of day when they normally lay then maybe i can see whats happening.

Is there any care i need to give to a hen whose laid her first egg? Maybe just catch her and check her vent?

x sunloving

[grannyjanny]

Congratulations & enjoy. Was she very proud & noisy? No advice sorry as we had mother showing them what to do. I love going to look for eggs though few & far between with our banties now the sharter days are here.

[sunloving]

Thats the thing, i was around all day and didnt hear anything, non of them was acting weird and i have no idea who it was?  ::)

The egg was just abandoned on the grass ! definately no proud layer!!

keeping a close eye out today but its still pouring down and they are just huddled underneath the coop. I'm sure that when i go out to take the dog for a walk ill come back to another mystery!!

but still how brilliant to have an egg at last! its like magic!  ;D
x sunloving

[grannyjanny]

I think it is magic ;). I got my Speckaldy's today so that I might actually get some eggs ::).

[grannyjanny]

Might has turned into have ;D. Two eggs today fro new ladies. Mother came over all hard yesterday when we introduced them. It lasted all of 5 minutes & then she gave in, although when Mother & 1 new girl were eating out of same dish Mother tried to knock Speckeldy out of the way with her bum, no chance ;D

[Jayb]

Yayyyyyyyy eggs for grannyjanny, well done girls. Treats all around?

[grannyjanny]

OH isn't very impressed with the eggs though, much prefers banties. Lovely girls though ;) ;D.

[pumkinlover]

Our girls usually lay in the morning, and tend to use the nest boxes themselves. Are the nest boxes nice and dark- that helps. It is likely that as the girls get to know what is happening they will lay in the right place. I often think the first eggs just takes them by surprise! :D

[Sparkly]

Am still waiting for the first eggs from our new chucks! They are 19 weeks old now and definately developing combs.

[grannyjanny]

Sparkly when the combs turn red that's a sign they should be coming into lay.

[Sparkly]

Do they have to have full combs? At the moment they are just poking out with a 'frilly' edge?

[grannyjanny]

Our daughter picked up 2 Speckeldy's when I picked mine up. One of hers had a full comb & is laying, the other is just poking through & isn't.

[Morris]

Do they have to have full combs? At the moment they are just poking out with a 'frilly' edge?

I recently added two new chickens to my pair (one died out of the original three).  Anyway, the columbian blacktail, much to my surprise, has started laying with a really small comb just like you described - it is bright red, but I thought it was too small.

Sunloving, I had success with putting a rubber egg in the nest box to get mine to copy.  But it would be huge compared to a bantam's egg  ;D - maybe you could find a small one or perhaps hard boil one of their eggs and put it back?

Enjoy the eggs, I love my naughty girls.

[sunloving]

Shes setling down now and has got used to the nest boxes after several weirdly placed eggs.
Still get a 2 hr squarking warning before each one!! poor girl she doesnt know whats hit her really. and is in and out of the coop like a cuckoo

Each egg has been bigger than the last and the other two girls are very curious about what happening so hopefully they wont have the random laying problems.

Shes a light sussex bantam and unlike her silver sussex cousins she doesnt have a big floppy comb and its realtively pale to which is odd.

Id say to anyone expecting thier first egg that youll know by the long session of gentle squarking that theres one brewing.
I think my girl is around 23 weeks. the other two at around 20 and no sign of eggs yet but they have big floppy red combs.

Its brilliant and magic , but a little weird to eat something that came out of your pets bum!! :P
cant belive how ther was nothing for so long and now an egg a day ;D
very eggciting

x sunloving