Single hen

[jlegg]

Weve had our three chickens POL from a friend of my sons mother two weeks tomorrow, we have two Brown ISAs and a Silverlink whose the boss! As yet no eggs but we were told about two weeks so should be soon, I hope so, the boys are beside themselves with the waiting !

 

Anyone got any tips on what to look out for?

 

I gave them a tray with some sand in it on Friday so that could have a bath it was viewed with suspision but now they think they can eat it I presume thats okay!

 

We have had some funny poos bit yellow and they smell a bit 'eggy' they seems fine, eat drink run about, play fight. i found some slugs small ones in the garden and there was a bit of an argument over them they kept running around and going into their house to consume them in private. Lots of very strange chrping and twittering.

 

My son 11 has taken to getting into the run and cuddling them. as the boys are getting so wexciting over the prospect of their eggs they took photos and made labels for the egg boxes, kept them busy most of saturday morning, and also used all of the ink in the printer!

 

Introduced our Jack Russel through the run wire she got pecked on the nose for getting to close and sniffing, so that put her in her place, the Whippet ddint notice them at close range but watches them through the window, has kept her occupied for hours!

nicki

[Topdollar]

It's like waiting for a baby to be born - I was pacing around like an expectant father for days

There are lots of sign's that point towards laying and some will display all others may only display one or two or even none in some cases.

I'm not an expert by any means but some signs are:

1. Crouching - very strange when you first see it

2. Increased appetite - they need lots more food to produce eggs

3. Their faces become very red - all those hormones

 

good luck with your first of many eggs

[Old Speckled Hen]

Yes their headgear gets more pronounced and red.

When they crouch they squash themselves down, spread their wings out a little and paddle vigorously with their feet.

It's the way they would submit to a cockerel and they do it when you approach.

Exciting isn't it

[jlegg]

I think one may have been doing something odd on Friday very strange I thought she was trying to have a bath which was why I put the sand bath in. Though i have done the finger width thing I d say its a finger and a half width so presume from that its not imminent!

Thanks for the tips anything to stop the boys getting anxious ! Shall go and have a look and see how red faced they are now!

 

Though the enthusiasim to let them out first thing should increase once an egg has been laid, currently they are happy to put them to bed, cuddle them, feed them, house and nest cleaning not quite so popular. Ours have decided to roost in their nest box, but as it has been chilly I suspect its warmer for them all huddled up together.

 

Once the great egg laying commences I shall 'flower pot' them I think.

 

Thanks for the tips

 

Did you know that female cats 'queens' do this paddling with their feet and squating with thier bottoms up in the air before mating, lots of yowling too not that cats and chickens are similar!!

 

Nicki

[flowerangelk8x]

what does flower pot them mean?

[jlegg]

The flowerpot thing was when they sleep in their nesting box instead of on a perch you can put a flowerpot in it (the nest box) to stop them, I read it in a post on the site, because ours love their nest!

Just been out to have a close inspection, Foggy the silverlink has a red face she looks like an angry farmer that you see on cartoons, though I did notice it comes and goes over the period of 15 mins I was watching her just now. Gave her a cuddle shes the most outgoing one of the three. The sand box now has some soil in it caused great excitement, though not as much as the slugs did!

 

Oh what fun !

 

nicki

[fluffyknickers]

I think one may have been doing something odd on Friday very strange I thought she was trying to have a bath which was why I put the sand bath in. Though i have done the finger width thing I d say its a finger and a half width so presume from that its not imminent!

Thanks for the tips anything to stop the boys getting anxious ! Shall go and have a look and see how red faced they are now!

 

Though the enthusiasim to let them out first thing should increase once an egg has been laid, currently they are happy to put them to bed, cuddle them, feed them, house and nest cleaning not quite so popular. Ours have decided to roost in their nest box, but as it has been chilly I suspect its warmer for them all huddled up together.

 

Once the great egg laying commences I shall 'flower pot' them I think.

 

Thanks for the tips

 

Did you know that female cats 'queens' do this paddling with their feet and squating with thier bottoms up in the air before mating, lots of yowling too not that cats and chickens are similar!!

 

Nicki

 

Whats the finger width thing!?

[jlegg]

I'm not qan expert having had chickens for 2 weeks so far, but from what Ive read on a post is that the pelvic bones of a chicken widen so that an egg can pass through, when the bones are close together they arent reday to lay and when they are 4 fingers wide apart they are! Or thats what i think it means , you can find it on one of the posts very interesting.

[westleigh]

ahh so cute your boys making labels for the boxes ect i hope they lay soon best wishes

[cordelia]

I waited between 4 and 5 months for my girls to lay..

 

the rhode island reds became red in the face first, one crouched and laid a few days later...but it was a good few weeks before the other did...

 

my cream legbar eventually got red in the face, but never crouched....but laid ...eventually

[jlegg]

Please dont tell me its going to take that long 4 to 5 months will have the boys in a panic! Don't think my printer can cope with producing anymore labels for egg boxes uses huge amounts of ink.

My sons friends mother whom the chickens came from asks him nearly everyday how they are hes quite sure they will lay very soon as they have the rest of the 'flock' at home. I think its rather amusing that two 15 year old boys sit and discuss chickens rather than football. My son tells me they talk about all kinds of things like recipes, politics the banking crisis etc so perhaps chickens arent too strange.

 

must say I spend ages watching them they do make me laugh, much better than doing the ironing!

[cordelia]

ooooo sorry to worry you !!

 

my girls arrived at 14 weeks and 13 weeks of age respectively, they werent at the POL stage, although they had been advertised as such (when I got there their real age was divulged)

 

 

mine are all pure breeds, and the legbar is a later stage layer...

 

I'm sure if your breeder says it will be any day now..it will be..

 

I'd look out for the crouching, paricularly in your ISA's.....its really funny to see....

 

and best of luck.....its great collecting your own eggs.....