I want that nest.

[Col1948]

I will take a photo, I think that will be better lol.

 

[Col1948]

OK just took 2 quick snaps of her

 

[Cragg Klefor]

Beautiful!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some people seem to think that chickens are robots, automatons that are programmed to behave one way and only one way. They are not. They are living animals and you can't be sure of what they will do. There is a general "generic" program that most sort of follow but there is a lot of individual leeway in how they actually execute that program. You might consider us domesticating them as introducing a virus that can really mess with the original programming. I'm trying to say it in a way that might make more sense to people used to devices as opposed to familiar with animals.

Some pullets will continue to lay through their first winter, especially production breeds, but not all do. Many will start laying at 5 to 6 months of age, but not all do. Some wait until spring to start laying, some don't. I had some designer pullets, Ameraucana from a breeder, that did not start laying until they were 9 months old. When they did start it was the early part of December when the days were about as short as they were going to get and I did not supplement lights. I would say they broke all the rules but the reality is there are no rules. What I find amazing about them is that their offspring when they were crossed with my production cross rooster often started laying at 5 months, same as my others.

@Col1948 what you are describing doesn't surprise me in the least. It actually sounds familiar.

 

[Col1948]

Thank you Ridgerunner, as you can guess I'm new to keeping chickens, I was like you say going off the rules so to speak.
It's like you say though, they are some that do things when they are ready not when you are ready lol, hence a lot of the questions raised on this forum.

 

[Col1948]

Update: Well there isn't one lol, yesterday I witnessed one or my Marans trying to get in the nest next to the one laying, she tried this a few times.
Then she went in the other nest, rearranged the straw to make the circle then came out, then back in, then tried to go next to the one laying again.
Then the grey one started to go in the nest, this is the one I thought laid the mystery egg, she too came out, after a few minutes of this they gave up and carried on scratching about in the garden, so I only had the one egg from the soft egg layer, which luckily I caught before she broke it getting out of the nest.

Moving on to this morning, the same thing all over again, it was like a replay of the day before, I again got the one egg, the others went back in the garden again, I'll keep having a look in case one of them decides to lay.

The one thing puzzling me is the Maran that was trying to get in the nest is the one that was laying regularly before she stopped about a month ago, so is it possible she would start again after the month long stop?

 

[Shadrach]

You need to get rid of that trampoline Col1948. It wont take the chickens long to work out they can get a jump boost from it and they'll be next door before you know it.

 

[Col1948]

Ha Ha, It's in the middle of the grass and a fair way from the fence, I did think of that lol.
I had my wheelie bins next to the garage, one day I saw one of them on top of the bin, only another jump and it would be on the garage roof then they could fly off that on to the front of the house so I moved them.

They have their wings clipped but that was a few month ago so they may be growing back, I will have to keep an eye on that.

 

[Shadrach]

I've just got to ask, have you let them into the house yet?

 

[Col1948]

When I first got them, I had the conservatory door open and they wondered in, I saw one of them poop so I shuffled them out.
The only other time they came in was I lured them in then shut the door, I got my grandson to help me clip the wings then we let them out.