[3Bluebelles]

Hi,

We've had our 3 Bluebelles for 4 weeks now, and no sign of any eggs. Is this too soon to expect them, or could I be doing something wrong?

As far as I know they are 20 weeks old now.

Thanks for any advice.

Jacky.

[Bodger]

Still plenty of time yet Jacky. I know you hear of people having chickens that start laying at 18 or 19 weeks but I still look upon POL as being around the 24 or 25 weeks mark.
I think you can look at the seasons taking a hand in this as well . If it were spring or mid summer, then your chickens may very well be laying now. This is because of the increased hours of daylight and to a lesser extent warmth. So don't worry about your birds not laying. I'd expect the eggs to start to flow in the next month or so. :thumright:

[3Bluebelles]

Thanks Bodger,

It's nice to know this is normal. It's just that you read so much conflicting advice on under/over feeding them or things that might be wrong with them that I end up panicking I'm doing something wrong.

Jacky.

[chickenlady]

hi 3bluebelles, my little girlies are 22 wks and only 1 has started to lay the other 2 dont seem at all interested in that side of hen hood yet! my blubelle and blackrock will be next, they are aprox 20 wks and combs are getting big and redder and they both come over to me and squat  :shock:
they dont even wait to be approached    little floosies! Its hard trying to be patient for eggs, I know I struggle as only 3 of my 7 girls have laid. hope you have some good news soon and we will want piccies of the eggies when they arrive  

[3Bluebelles]

Hi Chickenlady.

Thanks for your reply. What signs should I be looking out for? 2 of them (Milly and Molly) have very small pale combs, almost not there really! The 3rd (Mandy) is definitely redder but I don't think it has really changed since we got them.

What does the squatting mean? Ours don't really like being touched at all. They do come close to us when we feed them, but if we try to pick them up they make such a racket I'm scared the neighbours will think we are trying to kill them!

I also let them out in the garden whenever I can (usually 2 or 3 days a week or if we are at work, at least some time before we go or after we come home), and I don't know whether I need to search the garden for eggs, or whether they would lay in the nesting box.

They did have to be taught to perch on their roosting bars at night. Do they also need to be taught to lay in the nesting box?

Sorry - so many questions!!

Cheers,

Jacky.

[chickenlady]

Their combs wil start getting redder and larger (dependent on breed?)when they are coming into lay, the sqatting is what the hen does as a sign of submission to the cockerel so means they are close to laying. out of my 7 girls my 22wk old babcock and goldline are the only ones not showing this behaviour ( making a racket when I touch them in fact!!! :shock: ) also their appetite will increase as well as the size of their poops :shock: . I put a plastic egg in the nest box to show nugget (my 22wk girl who laid on friday for 1st time) where to go and that did work, but my 2 older girls worked it out for themselves!! hope this helps, oh and make sure you dont give them too many goodies as they have to eat their layers pellets which will help stimulate them into laying  

[3Bluebelles]

Thanks very much.

At the moment we block off the nesting box at night as otherwise they all sleep in there. I don't want them doing that as it means we have to change the bedding straw every day. Is that wrong? Is there a time of day they lay eggs? If they lay them at night and can't get into the nesting box would this be a problem?

We do feed them layers pellets which they have free access to all day. I probably do give them too many treats as it has given them trust and confidence in us, so maybe this is the time to reduce it. I cook them something every evening (pasta, rice, potatoes etc with whatever vegetable we have too much of on the allotment chopped in with it - sweetcorn at the moment, which they love!)

I scatter a bit of mixed corn around their run but they don't seem particularly bothered about it. They obviously eat as many worms, slugs etc as they can when they are out in the garden, and also they go mad for a few mealworms, but we only really use these to get them back into the run when we need them to, so they don't have these too often.

What do you think? Is it too much?

Cheers,

Jacky.

[Bodger]

The other things to consider, is that your 'Blue Bells' are basically a cross breed and you don't really get an even result from cross breeds. Their predisposition to start laying at a particular age can be quite varied.

[chickenlady]

someone on here said to just feed layers for a month with no other treats (apart from what they get in the garden) to see if that gets them into the swing of things, but i cant help myself when i find an eggie i have to give them a little treat    If my girls were smarter they could work this out and all start laying so they could get 7 treats a day   my girls lay at different times each day gradually getting later and then they will skip a day or two then start laying early again! my girls started to sleep in the nest box so that is also why i put the plastic egg in the nest so they knew it wasnt for sleeping. paxo has laid an egg whilst still on the perch cause she couldnt get to the nest box!!! but you should now know the signs to look out for so you can open the nest box when they are getting close!!!

[3Bluebelles]

Thanks for all your advice. It seems that the longer I have them, the more questions I have about them! It's just great to have so many experts to ask.

One more question, where on earth would I get such a thing as a plastic egg? I have looked around in my town centre today, but they only have things like marble ones, and in very strange colours - pink and sparkly in one case! (I'm sure even a chicken wouldn't be fooled by that!)

Cheers,

Jacky.

[millymolymandy]

Hi ascot smallholding suplies sell nest eggs, but it doesn't say what they are made of! By the way I must congratulate you on the names you have chosen for your hens!

[GrannieAnnie]

you could also use a golf ball or ping pong ball, as they are not the smartest animals around!!!  But some pet shops sell fake eggs too. We've got 3 china eggs, but only used them once.

[chickenlady]

my kiddies had some plastic eggs that came with a kitchen set!!!! i pinched one of those

[3Bluebelles]

Thanks everyone.

I will try a pet shop for a plastic egg, and if not, will try a golf ball.

We have also thought that as they always like to go to the highest place possible at night, and the roosting bars are slightly lower than the doorway to the nesting box, this might be why they like to sleep there. So he's going to put in some extra bars a bit higher up today to see if that makes a difference.

He did tell me that they would be on loan though, as they are higher perches!!!! (Sorry!)

Cheers,

Jacky.

[Miller]

Ours all laid in the nest box from the start (apart from one with no shell outside which I think took her by suprise!)  we have 4 sleep in next boxes and the other 4 on the perch (even though the perch has room for them all) and, to be honest, wouldn't want to block the next box off as at least 4 lay every day before I open the pop hole at 05:50 - eggs would be trampled in the crush  :shock: