Home Egg Watch...how long before my chickens lay?

[lliang_chi]

That''s awesome you''re keeping chickens. My mom has chickens, but they don''t lay, or if they do lay, she can''t find where they''re laying the eggs. She lets her chickens run around the farm and puts them in the coop @ night.

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/7/2009 8:40:32 AM
Author: Lorelei
Egg bump!

Ha ha too funny Lorelei,

That cracked me up! (Get it!

)

I'll be back soon - I have to go make dinner and feed the zoo.

 

[Skippy123]

Ethel and Agnes are gorgeous!!! Awww

both hubby and I had chickies growing up! What other babies do you have??

ps. aww, darling chickies Lorelei

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/7/2009 12:04:00 PM
Author: Steel

Date: 5/7/2009 8:40:32 AM
Author: Lorelei
Egg bump!

Ha ha too funny Lorelei,

That cracked me up! (Get it!

)

I''ll be back soon - I have to go make dinner and feed the zoo.

T''was a good yoke - I mean joke, hehe!

Cooee Skippers!

 

[Feralpenchant]

I don''t know scratch about chickens (HAHA get it? I crack myself up) but they are so darned cute!

I used to take care of an elderly couple''s two horses, and they had lots of land and 5 chickens that had their own coop but basically had run of the farm. They didn''t go anywhere really, they just followed me around when I turned the horses out. I remember the first day I went out there I didn''t know they had chickens and I was feeding the horses and I hear this "Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwww??" The most BIZARRE sound I had ever heard. I didn''t know they had any chickens, let alone that chickens make THAT sound! I screamed and the horses spooked and 4 of the chickens ran away except for one that just gave me the "beady eye" and slowly backed away from me LOL.

I hope they lay soon!

 

[Steel]

Day 6....no egg.

 

[Steel]

DH was a man on a mission this morning and despite ruffled feathers and copious amounts of beady eye....

Ethel and Agnes went outside today

.

 

[Steel]

I had to reduce the photo quality to post, so sorry about the quality.

 

[Steel]

I am having lots of trouble posting & adding photos today. So this will be the last photo. Again sorry about the quality.

I wrote that DH Shoo''ed the chucks out this morning and they stayed out until 5pm ish when it began to rain heavily so helped them back into their coop. They looked happy scratching and pecking aount the pen. I wonder if they ate any worms or slugs?

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/6/2009 3:15:50 PM
Author: VegasAngel
Lucky you..

Are they Rhode Island Reds? Your coop is really nice. I''m not really sure what to do to get them to lay when we had them they just did it. Good luck with them & enjoy!

When I was a kid I would never, ever eat the eggs from our chickens for some reason. Now, I would love to have hens for fresh eggs.

Thank you! I don''t have a clus what breed the girls are? I didn''t enjoy eggs as a kid either but am really looking forward to tasting them again!

 

[Lorelei]

They look like Rhode Island Red types to me, I have 4 similar. Looks like they enjoyed their outing! You will find they will seek out a dry patch to take dirt baths, this cracks me up the way they roll around with their wings flapping furiously

 

[bee*]

Aww Steel, they''re gorgeous! I love hens. Sending lots of PS dust for eggs!

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/6/2009 3:49:00 PM
Author: April20
Love your girls'' names and especially their coop! It''s very, very cute.

We had laying hens when I was growing up. It was my job to get the eggs- I was scared to death of those chickens. They liked to peck something awful! The rooster had an attitude like you wouldn''t believe and would chase me through the yard. I used to take a broom with me and then ditch the broom when I got to the edge of the yard and he quit chasing me. Mean little devil.

I''ll be waiting to see when you get your first eggs- very exciting stuff!

I wanted to give them olde world names. DH wasn''t (isn''t) keen on Ethel in particular but I love it.

I''m sorry you were scared of the hens when you were little. I have not gotten pecked yet but DH has. We have lots of builder''s gloves onsite so we wear them if we plan to handle the mean old peckers.

Thank you - I am so excited too!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/7/2009 4:55:57 PM
Author: Steel

Date: 5/6/2009 3:49:00 PM
Author: April20
Love your girls'' names and especially their coop! It''s very, very cute.

We had laying hens when I was growing up. It was my job to get the eggs- I was scared to death of those chickens. They liked to peck something awful! The rooster had an attitude like you wouldn''t believe and would chase me through the yard. I used to take a broom with me and then ditch the broom when I got to the edge of the yard and he quit chasing me. Mean little devil.

I''ll be waiting to see when you get your first eggs- very exciting stuff!

I wanted to give them olde world names. DH wasn''t (isn''t) keen on Ethel in particular but I love it.

I''m sorry you were scared of the hens when you were little. I have not gotten pecked yet but DH has. We have lots of builder''s gloves onsite so we wear them if we plan to handle the mean old peckers.

Thank you - I am so excited too!

Don''t worry about being pecked, it doesn''t hurt. They might sqwawk like crazy when you first handle them but they soon get used to it, mine will perch on my finger and Hilda in particular loves cuddles.

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/6/2009 4:35:19 PM
Author: Lorelei
I have seven chickies at the moment, Baby K-norr was taken by a fox - I found what was left of her

and Kojak died of natural causes. That was probably a couple of days worth of eggs, I normally have quite a few chickens!

Baby K-norr was the daughter of Amy K-norr, I wanted a chick from Amy but she wouldn''t sit, so I put some of her eggs under a broody hen and waited - lo and behold Baby K- norr was born and even had her Mummy''s little feathered hat!

So Baby K-norr seemed to be the natural name for her! Kojak just looked like a Kojack so she was thus named.

You will get addicted to chickens very quickly, they are great and wonderful to watch, one of mine even knows her name and will come when called! Hehe!

Wow. You are a dark horse. Aren''t PS''ers ''still waters'' and all?

Poor Baby K-norr and what a sweet name she had. How sad. But it is an occupational hazzard. I hope the foxes leave your girls alone.

Do you have a cockerel? I can''t wait to get one. I have a perfect name picked out...Randy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/7/2009 9:02:39 AM
Author: elrohwen
So cool! Thanks for sharing. Your coop is beautiful and I would''ve never guessed that you did it on the cheap.

FI''s boss has some chickens now and apparently he''s selling the eggs at work

FI wants to buy eggs from the store, pretend they''re fresh, and sell them at work for less to undercut his boss'' pricing. Lol

You never know, you could make some good money on the side with your eggs!

Thank you for saying such nice things.

Your FI sounds sneaky! We would love to turn a few bucks if possible in the future

.

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/7/2009 11:17:21 AM
Author: lliang_chi
That's awesome you're keeping chickens. My mom has chickens, but they don't lay, or if they do lay, she can't find where they're laying the eggs. She lets her chickens run around the farm and puts them in the coop @ night.

Thank you.

I wonder where your Mom's hens are hiding their eggs. I must say that is an incentive to keep them in a pen. We thought we might let them wander around the site when they are older but not if they will play hide and go seek eggie weggies

.

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/7/2009 12:28:09 PM
Author: Skippy123
Ethel and Agnes are gorgeous!!! Awww

both hubby and I had chickies growing up! What other babies do you have??

ps. aww, darling chickies Lorelei

Thank you. It is funny to me how common having chucks is. I felt very ''country'' getting them here but am learning it is not so unusual. I am pleased so many hens get a proper home life. Do you have the opportunity to keep them now?

Our zoo is small but at times overwhelming. 3 cats, 2 dogs and 2 hens.

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/7/2009 3:38:35 PM
Author: Feralpenchant
I don''t know scratch about chickens (HAHA get it? I crack myself up) but they are so darned cute!

I used to take care of an elderly couple''s two horses, and they had lots of land and 5 chickens that had their own coop but basically had run of the farm. They didn''t go anywhere really, they just followed me around when I turned the horses out. I remember the first day I went out there I didn''t know they had chickens and I was feeding the horses and I hear this ''Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwww??'' The most BIZARRE sound I had ever heard. I didn''t know they had any chickens, let alone that chickens make THAT sound! I screamed and the horses spooked and 4 of the chickens ran away except for one that just gave me the ''beady eye'' and slowly backed away from me LOL.

I hope they lay soon!

Ha ha.

I never felt one way or the other about chickens but now that I see them eye to beady eye, they are very cute.

I would love for our hens to follow us like those hens followed you. It sounds endearing. I never knew before Saturday that chucks warbled that sound either. It is very soothing once you know what is making the sound! The beady eye (

) is soooo funny isn''t it. Silly hens

.

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/7/2009 4:58:00 PM
Author: Lorelei
Don't worry about being pecked, it doesn't hurt. They might sqwawk like crazy when you first handle them but they soon get used to it, mine will perch on my finger and Hilda in particular loves cuddles.

Hilda - that is a super name! I love it.

I cannot wait until they trust me. I think they will be great fun.

Lore, I don't know if you could be bothered but I would love to see/know more about your chucks? Can you share what scraps you feed them if at all? Do you feed them the laying pellets or just let them get on with it naturally?

ETA: thank you for the breed info. I will look them up. The dirt baths sound sooooo cute. I cannot wait.

What is the breed which has lots of decorative feathers, esp. on the legs so that they look like they are wearing feather stockings? I would love a cockerel of that breed they look magnificant....

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/7/2009 4:54:48 PM
Author: bee*
Aww Steel, they''re gorgeous! I love hens. Sending lots of PS dust for eggs!

Thanks Bee. They are such fun!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/7/2009 5:20:50 PM
Author: Steel

Date: 5/7/2009 4:58:00 PM
Author: Lorelei
Don't worry about being pecked, it doesn't hurt. They might sqwawk like crazy when you first handle them but they soon get used to it, mine will perch on my finger and Hilda in particular loves cuddles.

Hilda - that is a super name! I love it.

I cannot wait until they trust me. I think they will be great fun.

Lore, I don't know if you could be bothered but I would love to see/know more about your chucks? Can you share what scraps you feed them if at all? Do you feed them the laying pellets or just let them get on with it naturally?

ETA: thank you for the breed info. I will look them up. The dirt baths sound sooooo cute. I cannot wait.

What is the breed which has lots of decorative feathers, esp. on the legs so that they look like they are wearing feather stockings? I would love a cockerel of that breed they look magnificant....

Of course!

I feed mine mixed corn, I don't really use layers pellets as I find mine don't need it to lay and they seem to prefer the corn! Apart from that they spend their time scratching around and browsing for insects, worms, plants etc. I do feed them scraps and here are some of their faves.

Bread
cooked eggs ( fried, poached etc - anyway!)
cooked pasta, potatoes, other veggies - really any non meat leftovers. I don't feed mine meat but they go beserk if they get a chance at any!

Really any veggie, pasta leftovers we have from meals I save for them which they enjoy. Things like yorkshire pudding they also like, lots of things you can give them. You can also shred up some raw veggies to make a chicken ' slaw' if you are so inclined, or boil up some potatoes and greens such as cabbage, mash, cool and feed.

I did have 2 cockerels, Vladimir, Elvis and Eric who have since thrown off their mortal coils, I haven't replaced them as I don't want any more chicks. Well I would LOVE some more chicks but they are mainly males and it is so hard to find good homes for them as I can't keep many cockerels.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/7/2009 5:20:50 PM
Author: Steel

Date: 5/7/2009 4:58:00 PM
Author: Lorelei
Don't worry about being pecked, it doesn't hurt. They might sqwawk like crazy when you first handle them but they soon get used to it, mine will perch on my finger and Hilda in particular loves cuddles.

Hilda - that is a super name! I love it.

I cannot wait until they trust me. I think they will be great fun.

Lore, I don't know if you could be bothered but I would love to see/know more about your chucks? Can you share what scraps you feed them if at all? Do you feed them the laying pellets or just let them get on with it naturally?

ETA: thank you for the breed info. I will look them up. The dirt baths sound sooooo cute. I cannot wait.

What is the breed which has lots of decorative feathers, esp. on the legs so that they look like they are wearing feather stockings? I would love a cockerel of that breed they look magnificant....

I think that might be a bantam type breed - Eric had those!

 

[Aloros]

Date: 5/6/2009 2:20:34 PM
Author: Steel

I found that site last year when I was researching chucks. DH was tickled pink that you thought his coop was pretty enough to enter a competition. We feel extra proud that it is ''make and do''. We are both very spend thrifty (hence me posting on a diamond forum

).

Your Quails sound great. I would love to see a picture sometime if you get a chance. I have seen the quail eggs in the supermarket and marvelled how teeny tiny they are. Do you eat the eggs? How do they taste?

I''m glad your neighbours share - that is wonderful to have a community spirit. You don''t moan about their chucks and they spread the excess around. Very green!

No

. I hope to see one soon. If I could choose, I would choose white eggs. Just because every egg I have seen before is pinky brown with speckles. I love that on American t.v shows the eggs all seem to be white. So exotic!

I''ve had quail eggs before. I had them fried in Thailand, with sauce - soooooo good. My FI is intent on buying the pan to make these. The pan has all these little indentations to fry the eggs in, and it browns the bottoms a bit. We also made little quail deviled eggs before. They''re cutely bite-sized! They taste the same as chicken eggs to me. FI thinks they taste better, but I don''t taste a difference

. They''re great for making appetizers because of their size.

That''s so funny that white eggs are exotic over there! Almost all the eggs here are white, and there''s a misconception that brown eggs are "better". So strange!

Here''s a picture of my quails. They''re funny little birds.

 

[Lorelei]

Eggsactly how much longer do we have to wait??

Al, your quails are so cute!

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/8/2009 2:38:58 PM
Author: Lorelei

Eggsactly how much longer do we have to wait??

Al, your quails are so cute!

Ha ha. I have been rushing around all day; like a headless chicken, with the build - on a positive note I may have found my kitchen tiles...whoo hooo.

But Day 7 and no eggies. Not even a tiddler.

Thank you so much for your info about the scraps. I have been scared to give them anything extra. They do seem to enjoy scratching around. DH joked yesterday that the slugs that had crawled into the feeding trough will 'regret that'!!!! hahahah

I love that you keep chucks too. PS'ers are a cool bunch!

You seem to have 'been there, done that' on anything to do with chickens! Did the Cocks bother you crowing in the morning?

Did you every breed or buy the broilers for the pot?

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/8/2009 11:26:52 AM
Author: Aloros
I''ve had quail eggs before. I had them fried in Thailand, with sauce - soooooo good. My FI is intent on buying the pan to make these. The pan has all these little indentations to fry the eggs in, and it browns the bottoms a bit. We also made little quail deviled eggs before. They''re cutely bite-sized! They taste the same as chicken eggs to me. FI thinks they taste better, but I don''t taste a difference

. They''re great for making appetizers because of their size.

That''s so funny that white eggs are exotic over there! Almost all the eggs here are white, and there''s a misconception that brown eggs are ''better''. So strange!

Here''s a picture of my quails. They''re funny little birds.

Thank you so much for posting a photo. They look wonderful - such pretty colouring. I called DH over to see them and he thinks they look great! Thanks again for posting it.

Grass is greener as far as the eggs must be concerned. I love to see your white eggs on tv. I cannot wait to go to the US and white eggs are one of the little goals I have made for myself - I want to see all the white eggs in the supermarket. (Ideally I want to go to ''ralphs'' market!)

I would love to try quail eggs. As long as they do not mind me swiping one for lunch...

 

[Steel]

Lorelei - was Eric a Bantam? Did you use him for breeding or just eye candy?

I heard that that breed lays small eggs. Is that true? I love their feathery socks.....

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/8/2009 2:50:48 PM
Author: Steel

Date: 5/8/2009 2:38:58 PM
Author: Lorelei

Eggsactly how much longer do we have to wait??

Al, your quails are so cute!

Ha ha. I have been rushing around all day; like a headless chicken, with the build - on a positive note I may have found my kitchen tiles...whoo hooo.

But Day 7 and no eggies. Not even a tiddler.

Thank you so much for your info about the scraps. I have been scared to give them anything extra. They do seem to enjoy scratching around. DH joked yesterday that the slugs that had crawled into the feeding trough will ''regret that''!!!! hahahah

I love that you keep chucks too. PS''ers are a cool bunch!

You seem to have ''been there, done that'' on anything to do with chickens! Did the Cocks bother you crowing in the morning?

Did you every breed or buy the broilers for the pot?

No the cockerels didn''t worry me crowing in the morning but they couldn''t be heard much anyway as they were in their bed box in their stable. They did crow at all times of day though, once they got going there was no stopping them!

All my chickies have been pets, none were destined for the pot. I am just so addicted to chickens, I love everything about them, watching them...They are highly amusing which I think is what appeals to me most.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/8/2009 2:58:06 PM
Author: Steel
Lorelei - was Eric a Bantam? Did you use him for breeding or just eye candy?

I heard that that breed lays small eggs. Is that true? I love their feathery socks.....

Eric was a bantam cross of sorts, he was small and a beautiful silvery platinum colour - but his little leggings were hysterical! He looked like he was wearing the fanciest flares!

I didn't breed from him, he was purely eye candy.

That breeds eggs are a bit smaller, you will find your girls will lay some good size eggies once they get going.