First Egg Stories?

[shearches]

Just found our first one yesterday!! Obviously from one of my bantam babies, but it was perfect! Perfectly shaped and had a nice hard shell! This is why we do what we do lol! The only bummer to me is that it was my husband who found it

 

[shearches]

I also have a question for any Australorp owners. I know they can be prolific, but are they late starters? I have been using nesting pads and wheat straw. Our first yesterday was in the wheat straw. What else does everyone use that the hens seem to love?

 

[DuckPro]

One day, I went to my garden and I saw a tiny, clean egg.

No fuss. Made an omelet out of it

 

[lohoff1024]

My grandfather built us a chicken coop, even though he shouldn't have been on his feet. When his health declined, I had 6 month old pullets, and he kept telling me to replace the nest box shavings with straw. 11 days after he passed away, I finally switched to straw, and 2 hours later my Australorp, Agatha, had laid her first egg.

 

[MistyMtnFarm]

I STILL remember my first egg, though it was almost thirty years ago now....We had picked up a dozen straight run brown layers from the local hatchery, and installed them in a nice space we had sectioned off at the end of an old barn, complete with nesting boxes, etc. We kept goats in the rest of the barn. After diligently feeding them and falling in love with observing the social lives of chickens over the summer, I went in to milk the goat one morning and had to chase a couple of hens out of the goat barn. When I went to put hay into the feeder for the goat, there was a perfect, clean, brown egg laying right on top of the hay! At first I thought my husband was playing a joke on me--it was just too clean and in such a silly place, and he was always playing those kinds of fun pranks. So I left the egg on his pillow so that when he went to bed, he would find it.
He did find it, and luckily didn't just plop his head down on the pillow--yeah, that could have gone wrong quickly, haha. We were both so excited, we just sat there in bed staring at it and laughing!
Almost 30 years later, I still have those moments when I am mindful of the fact that each egg is a perfect little gift from the birds.

 

[jp57]

I got my first two eggs yesterday. I found one in the coop before work and my son found another in there later in the morning. This is my first experience raising chickens and it made the last 18 weeks worth it. We have 8 hens and are ready for more.

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Found my first egg in from my GC hen, pulled it out and sent a billion pics to everyone

 

[Boone Farm]

When I got my first egg I knew it was coming soon. I would look every day in the nesting boxes. I'd look in the coop. I let mine free range my back yard so I'd look along the fenceline and in the corners. I have a camera up so I can watch them during the day and checked all the spots that I normally see them. This was my routine. Everyday.

One day Tony was doing what I called "The Diaper Dance". It looked like her butt was a brown fuzzy diaper so full that no one would want to empty it. I laughed at it and knew something had to be coming soon. I walked inside for 30 minutes and went back outside to see she had stopped doing her dance!

I was so excited. I quickly checked the box; nope. The coop; nope. All her normal places; nope.

I was upset. I put my head down and started walking back inside and as I'm walking away, lo and behold, right smack dab in the middle of the yard, a small brown egg just sitting there.

I was pumped! Obviously Tony had no idea what was going on and just plopped it down wherever it may land! The next day she was able to make a small nest in her coop and lay. She's been laying there ever since. She doesn't like using the nest boxes but at least I know I'll find it in the coop.

 

[BirdGirl2004]

I also have a question for any Australorp owners. I know they can be prolific, but are they late starters? I have been using nesting pads and wheat straw. Our first yesterday was in the wheat straw. What else does everyone use that the hens seem to love?

I also have a question for any Australorp owners. I know they can be prolific, but are they late starters? I have been using nesting pads and wheat straw. Our first yesterday was in the wheat straw. What else does everyone use that the hens seem to love?

My chickens LOVE nesting in straw... they are so cute when I put new fresh straw in the nesting boxes!

 

[FountainFlock]

We got our first egg this morning!

This is our first time keeping chickens. We brought our first girls home as chicks on March 19. Two Red Sex Links and two Black Australorps. Since then we've added a Welsummer, an Ameraucana/Easter Egger and two Blue Copper Marans and two Lavender Orpingtons bringing our flock to a total of ten.

The originals are now 17 1/2 weeks old and had started showing signs of being ready. In particular the one of the Red Sex Links had gotten much more calm and tame and was squatting for us. Every morning I've been opening the nesting box door before opening the pop door and this girl would jump in to squat and get pets.

Today happened like every other day, except when I went back out to the coop a couple hours later, I again checked the nest box and there it was, a perfect little brown egg with just a bit of fluff butt fuzz on it. Best day! It's pretty small. My husband says I should make a mug cake with it. I'll wait until he comes home to crack it open and see what is happening on the inside.