Chicken Coop Cam
Goat Stall Cam
Even though we’ve had chickens for a while now, it’s still a thrill to find that first egg. On Monday, I found this little 
egg in a nest box; so our latest batch of Golden Buff pullets has started laying. We got them as day-old birds (there’s a story on that here) on Thursday, May 10th; so it was 16 weeks and 4 days for the first girl to lay an egg. The egg is tiny, but that’s ok – we know they’ll get bigger with time.
The combs and wattles of chickens turn red (from hormones) when they start laying, so it’s possible to distinguish who’s responsible. Of the twelve chicks, there does clearly appear to be one with redder, more developed features – so it’s probably her. Even though we’d just introduced these chicks into the main coop & pasture two weeks ago (see Integrating Young Pullets), she put her egg in a nest box inside the coop – it’s amazing to me that they know what to do.
These pullets will ramp up to laying well in conjunction with the older birds molting this fall, so egg production should continue without disruption this year - provided we supply supplemental light as day length goes below 14 hours (see Controlling Egg Production). In fact, since Golden Buffs are prolific egg layers (close to one per day) and we kept twelve of them this time, we’re going to have lots of eggs for sale. Our friends and neighbors will be happy – they love farm fresh eggs too!
Nice that your pullet knows where to lay her eggs. Our BR pullet insists on laying her eggs in the wood crib. She has laid three eggs there, having flown the chicken run fence to get there for egg #3. So yesterday I confined her to the coop (where the nest boxes are) along with another non-laying pullet for company. Result: She laid no egg either yesterday or this morning. Will she eventually use the nest box? I have phony eggs in them to help her get the idea, but I’m doubtful. I’m open to any suggestions to get her to use the nest boxes. The wood crib is strictly off limits. Thanks!
Ted, it’s really common for pullets to lay their eggs in the wrong places when they start laying. We actually have a few that are laying their eggs in the corner of the coop rather than the nest boxes too. As pullets begin laying they’re sometimes not very regular, so I wouldn’t get upset about the fact that she hasn’t laid anything for a couple of days. Putting phony eggs in is absolutely the right thing to do to help her get the idea. A couple of other things to think about, do you have enough nest boxes for the number of birds (should be 1 for every 4 birds), are the boxes low near the floor of the coop (when they start it sometimes helps to have them low, and then raise them after they “get” where to lay), and are the nest boxes dark inside (the chickens instinct is to lay in a dark, protected spot) too much light and they don’t want to use the nest box. I’m trying to make the corner of the coop where mine are laying floor eggs as uninviting as possible. Good Luck, I’d be interested in hearing what happens.
Hi Lesa, we’re starting to have better luck with our pullets laying in the nesting boxes. I’ve had to keep everyone in the enclosed run until someone lays an egg (upstairs) in the nesting boxes, then I let them out to play. I currently have three pullets and three nesting boxes (and one rooster). Two out of three nesting boxes have been used so far. So, we’re encouraged. I installed a drape at varying lengths over the nesting boxes for privacy, so they can choose which ones they prefer.