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Author Topic: Laying?  (Read 9401 times)

Offline Jerrymac

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Laying?
« on: September 08, 2008, 11:41:23 am »
I know it is close to time for my hens to start laying. I have one that has been acting strange the past few days. This morning she is in the pen with all the little chicks. She has been checking out every nook crook and cranny. I finally got one of my over sized bee boxes I made way back when, put some mowed dried weeds in it and sat it on top of a non-working freezer. She jumped up onto it and has spent a lot of time rearranging the weeds in there. Is this typical of a hen fixing to lay her first egg? 
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Offline poka-bee

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #1 on: September 08, 2008, 12:08:32 pm »
Yep, the hormones are starting to flow, could be tomorrow or in 3 weeks though.  Is her comb red?  Is she hunkering down when you try to pet her?  Try the Backyard Chicken Forum, they have tons & tons of info. Funny, the 1 mystery chix I have started laying a good 6 weeks before any of the others!  Now getting 8 + a day.  My hard thing is that they are free range on my property so getting them ALL to use the nests has been fun!  They pick the weirdest spots to lay.. :roll:  Jody
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Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #2 on: September 08, 2008, 12:15:57 pm »
Yeah I'm thinking I need to close up the openings going under the house. That is where they spend most of the day. Have to send the grand kids in to find the eggs I guess  :-D
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Offline ArmucheeBee

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #3 on: September 08, 2008, 12:55:26 pm »
Hens like to feel safe, secure, and concealed when laying.  I use 5 gallon buckets laid on their sides, with a piece of 2x4 cut to shape across the front to keep the hay inside.  They love 'em.  Something is over their head, sides, and tail.  They are also easy to clean and have a handle!!  I use them for bantams and standard hens.
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Offline JP

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #4 on: September 08, 2008, 08:57:07 pm »
Jerry's gonna be a daddy!!!


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Offline Frantz

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #5 on: September 08, 2008, 11:56:32 pm »
Yep, Jerry she will be laying soon. Keep an eye on her and make sure she gets the first one out. I have had a few have a rough time with the first one, don't know why. I am getting about 9 doz every 3-4 days now. It has been a good year. The kids all have their egg routes that they sell to and it has been a good summer. Good luck, and " keep on cluck'n"!!!
Also what kind of birds do you have?
Just wondering
F
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Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2008, 09:47:21 am »
So what do you do if she can't get the egg out?     Drop kick  :shock:

Right now it is just the Rhode Island Reds that are of age.

I am going to have to look see what all the others are. Estes Hatchery had a special on rainbow egg layers. So I ordered 25 pullets. They sent 27.... they always send extras... and one turns out to be male. One I think got mobbed and died and another drowned (I think) as they all bunched around the waterer and possible got this one's head in the water. That's where I found it. So I got the 25 I ordered I guess. Also ordered 2 guineas at the same time and they sent 4.

From the first batch of birds I got from Gebo's, a total of 16, I lost one to unknown causes, lost two to the dog. Ended up with 6 hens and seven roosters..... until the other day. Now four roosters are in the freezer. See how they taste later this week I think.

So I have

4 guineas
4 roosters
30 hens
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Offline JP

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #7 on: September 09, 2008, 10:47:41 am »
Never heard of chickens having trouble laying eggs, aren't they the experts on the subject?


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Offline 1reb

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #8 on: September 09, 2008, 01:08:34 pm »
I you want a breed of bird that will lay in about 10 week  and lay almost all year get you some of the coturnix quail .  I have 7 of them and I get 7 eggs most day
Johnny

Offline Frantz

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2008, 01:54:16 pm »
They can sometimes get egg bound. It ain't pretty, but you can actually pick them up and help them coax it out. They get too many in the chute per say. At any given time a chicken will have 3-4 eggs in various stages in the chute. If for some reason the one that needs to come out doesn't they get backed up or "egg bound". It seems to me that happens about 1 in 30 or so. Sometimes their hips just aren't wide enough. Usually doesn't happen to the RIR's and the leghorns as they are bread to be laying machines. But can happen to the other breeds a little more often.
I think that Cindi even has had her sister? come over and measure the egg chute on her layers and those that don't pass go to the freezer. I could be wrong but you can measure the chute and tell whether they will be prone to binding up.
Sounds like you have a good group of birds.
Good luck and have fun.
We have moved into incubating our own birds and all kinds of fun stuff with the kids. It is as bad as having bees. You start to get a little crazy.
F
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Offline doak

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2008, 02:21:58 pm »
That's a new one on me, never heard of a chicken being egg bound.
Two yolks, soft shell, double hard shell,  two eggs in one day, but they missed the day before or the day after, yes!!!!   Egg Bound??? I don't know. :roll:
doak

Offline poka-bee

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #11 on: September 09, 2008, 03:11:26 pm »
Any type of birds can become eggbound, as can lizards, snakes,turtles anything that lays eggs.  I've never had a chix but did have a cockatiel once, mineral oil  can help.. :-P  Just got a Far Side image of Cindi with her little tape measure..hee hee! :evil:
I got my chix from Estes too, all very healthy & 25/25 pullets!! Danish Leghorns, Americanas, Blk sexlink.  They are so funny & very very tame!  Jody
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Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #12 on: September 09, 2008, 03:48:56 pm »
An egg bound chicken can die and appear to be death due to unknown causes.  If you find a chicken with the egg half out/in pick her up and press gently on each side of the vent just ahead of the tail, the egg should pop out.

Abut chicken can lay an egg every 23 hours so 2 eggs in 24 hours is possible, but they'll usually skip the next day completely when that happens.  I find that 20 chickens (various ages) produce about 15 eggs average per day....it ranges from 10-20.  Still that's more than my household (10 people) can eat so I have a widower friend we supply with eggs as well. 
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Offline ArmucheeBee

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #13 on: September 09, 2008, 04:34:36 pm »
Sell those surplus eggs.  I have 11 hens and get avg. of 7 eggs each day.  I take left over work and sell them cheap at $1.50/dzn.  In each month I only make about $14-$16, which is just enough to buy a 50# bag of layer.  We started a small business with 20 Black Australorps a few years back, but I could not make enough then to cover the feed costs.  I would have to let them range and there are too many dogs out here in the country!!!  Oh, my coworkers return my egg cartons, when I had the 20 BAust. I had to buy cartoons.  That and feed take all your money.
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Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #14 on: September 09, 2008, 05:10:06 pm »
I did get a book about chickens. It does mention something about being Egg bound. Some petroleum jelly, stuff it into the vent, and egg slides out.
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Offline JP

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #15 on: September 09, 2008, 05:18:04 pm »
Hey, you do know why a chicken can't lay half an egg, right??


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Offline poka-bee

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #16 on: September 09, 2008, 07:15:19 pm »
I sell mine at the CSA I belong to.  The lady pays me $3dz, & then she sells em for $3.50.  I can get cash or credit to my shares.  I also have people @ Church begging me..think I'll have to get more next spring, 16 isn't enough! :evil:  Bruce will be bout as thrilled as Brian's wife was finding the ram in their goat pen!~! :roll:  Jody
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Offline randydrivesabus

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #17 on: September 09, 2008, 08:36:18 pm »
the eggs at the farmers market are selling for $3.50 a dozen and anyone who brings them sells out easily. i got the market manager upset by saying that they sell so fast i don't even need a cooler. i've had hens get egg bound and if you can't tell that they are they will die from it. but it doesn't happen very often.

Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #18 on: September 09, 2008, 09:36:08 pm »
I got egg!!!

Real nice purddy brown egg.
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Offline poka-bee

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Re: Laying?
« Reply #19 on: September 09, 2008, 10:45:22 pm »
YAYS!!  :-D  Nothing beats home grown eggs!  Day by day the others should be on board!  Jody
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