5 eggs today !

[Chookaholic]

Penny has started laying... a very fine shelled but rather enormous egg!

means I have now got 5 chooks laying .. all 4 my origonal girls are now laying . Nice end to a busy day

[chookmike]

Zero eggs today - from 5 hens!

Well done chookaholic's hens but ours have had their first blank.

If they start eating them, do they leave any evidence or is every last bit of shell gone?

Mike

[urbanchicks]

Two eggs from 4 hens today.they are on quite expensive feed and good veggie treats!

Maggie

[Chookaholic]

Hi Mike

there always seems to be a wet splodge on the bedding if theyve laid a softy, Although yesterday I lifted a fully skinned egg which was very strange...until i dropped it and in the girls went in like vultures . If it has been laid outside then usually the only thing i notice is chooks running round with a white dangly revolting mush hanging from the beak ... YUK!

If I am not in the garden then no signs at all. as theyre eaten at warp speed i have even seen the pull them out of each other when i first got them which as not nice

My girls have never eaten each others normal eggs: in fact if i leave them in the coop then they all lay as a clutch together instead of in each coop and can be very defensive if theyre in there Ive had my fingers pecked a few times

I would say using saw dust / wood shavings if theyre in a run and in coops as straw seems to hide evidence when they have been rooting around and keep a look out for any wet / yellow splodges. If youre worried theyre not lying good eggs then oyster shell (for their shells ) is a real favourite with my girls and can be purchased online

hope this helps

Lisa

[Chookaholic]

Hi Urban

i have started feeding mine warm barley with a handful of corn an hour before they go to roost. It is cheap as chips and they absolutely love it warm.

My daughter also thought she would fill the cat dishes outside today and was mobbed. Normally they dont go quite so mad im beginning to think a little more protein in the cold weather is preferable to them and easier to process: i suppose they know what they need but i like them to fill up on pellets in the morning . It would be nice if a more experienced member could clarify if this is right

[chookmike]

Thanks Lisa

No evidence whatsoever although bottom hen laid a softie during their FR on the lawn last evening, having laid a normal egg earlier in the day, but in the run and not the nests.

They have oyster shell permanently available and limestone flour in their mash twice a week.

Things have been a little fraught with the pecking order of late; they are now separated as a 3 and 2 which is varied nightly according to who wants to go to bed first as long as the sometime enemies are separate plus they are all in a long and not very dramatic moult - just the odd feather around, although the small feathers are being eaten so they have a little increased protein - mealworms and cheap tuna flakes from the value range, well washed to remove the salt.

We'll put it down as a bad day and carry on....

Well done your lot though!

Cheers

[Chicken drumstick]

Well


Still waiting for any of mine to lay i think they hate me .

[HappyBob]

They managed 5 eggs (one of them a huge egg)this morning from 7 hens. Feed just layers pellets with the odd green treat every few days. Oyster shell available 24/7. Yesterday they managed 6 eggs

[Scrambled]

Well


Still waiting for any of mine to lay i think they hate me .

[lancashire lass]

I've been keeping a weekly tally since mine started to lay - all 4 are laying and the other week I was collecting 4 eggs a day (enough for me to have such a surplus that I was able to sell a few) but has dropped back to about 3 a day this week - we've had a lot of dull weather recently and days are definitely getting shorter so I have been expecting it.

When the blue's bullying revved up to feather pecking and eating, I started to add a little extra protein to their afternoon feed of chopped veggies and mixed corn with a dusting of limestone flour, and I've noticed she has definitely calmed down (even more interesting to see that when I put the food in the run, she instinctively goes for the protein first whether it be cooked egg, dried mealworms or the occasional sardines) I've also been making a warm mash with the pellets to be sure they eat them with some oats and a few seeds (black sunflower & wild bird seed) and they love it

[Stef]

Ours have recently changed top hen, the ranger now seems to hold that post. But she is looking tatty.

So they have had half a tin of beans for a few days, butter beans cos I haven't got any chickpeas in. We miss an egg a couple of days a week now.... though we do have 5 already today. I may have forgotten to collect them yesterday

[Chookaholic]

aww Drumstick Im sure they appreciate everything you do for them and are getting ready to rev the little chicken engines soon youll have a fridge full of fresh eggs

I have to be honest I have never seen one of my chooks eating small feathers. How strange!

I have never used limestone flour ... i might invest in some though as i have noticed it has been mentioned a few time on DTL .. My girls get oyster shell and mixed grit , though if it is in a pot they show no interest so i scatter it round the garden. They also get their own egg shells .

ChookMike if theyre all moulting they must be really scrappy! I have had one Araucana in full moult and she is the worst tempered chook i have ever seen . She quite literally stomps round the garden wiggling her bare bum and dishing out pecks here and there. though she has started to feather now and looks like a bad tempered porcupine