What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[serenlas]

We got our first 3 chickens five weeks ago today, a and two . We had our first egg after 4 days, then nothing for about 2 weeks, but since then Hermione ( ) has been pretty regular. Sometimes she lays an egg every 24 hrs, sometimes every 48 hrs, and more often than not somewhere inbetween. But the other two still haven't laid. Should I be worried? The rational part of my brain tells me that they may still just be a little young or not quite settled enough but the worrying part is taking over somewhat!

 

Our , Bellatrix, keeps squatting with her wings held out slightly from her body, and I think her comb is looking redder. Does it sound like she's close? Will she definitely know to use the nesting area in the Eglu? They do free range when possible as of about 10 days ago and I keep hunting the garden for eggs but haven't found anything..

 

I try not to give them much in the way of extra snacks, just Omlet layer pellets every day with a small amount of corn/leftover rice/pasta maybe 5 times a week as it's easy to get them into their walk in run if they're chasing food But of course they are eating all sorts while free ranging..

 

Sorry!

[JS1]

I'm no expert, but I wouldn't be worried. When we got our original three (all supposed to be POL), two kicked in straight away and one, Ena, didn't lay for weeks, and then erratically. Well, two and a half years on she's the only survivor and still giving us an egg most days, so I reckon she was quite a bit younger than the other two.

 

And yes, crouching and reddening comb are signs that it's all happening down there

 

Mine have all used the nesting box from the word go, but you can put a pot egg or one of the Omlet bouncy eggs in there to give them the idea if you want (mind you, when I did that with my ex-batts they kept kicking it out.)

[Olly]

Point of Lay is a term of art - chickens are usually somewhere between 18-22 weeks if sold as POL and if you add to that the fact that one chicken may be ready to lay at, say, 17 weeks and another not ready until 26 weeks, you've got quite a wide range!

 

You're doing everything right and from your description of Bellatrix's behaviour, she's getting ready to lay. You'll be overwhelmed with eggs before you know it.

[serenlas]

Thanks for replying It seems posting my question tempted fate, as we're now overwhelmed with eggs Bellatrix laid her first egg in the nest last Friday, and since then I've been finding an egg either lying on the bars inside the Eglu or kicking about in the run every day! I'm not sure if they're all Bellatrix's, it might be Ginny as well if they're both laying erratically, and she has started squatting. Hopefully they'll get the hang of it soon! If not I'll try the bouncy eggs, thanks Off to look for egg-heavy recipes now!