I had calculated about when we would get our first egg and thought it to be around July 15. A couple of weeks ago some of the hens began squatting when I pet them and I’ve read that when this happens, they should start laying in a week or so. I kept watching and watching and I just knew I was going to get an egg by the end of June but Vince . . the always right husband . . said it would be after July 1 and it was!
It was today! We got the first chickens on March 6. From everything I read, they could begin laying any time from 18 weeks to 6 months. Yesterday was 17 weeks. Earlier this afternoon I was out at the coop and one of the chickens kept squawking and going back and forth into the egg box. I felt pretty sure today was the day for her to lay her first egg. I just left her alone and went back in the house but when I went back out, there was my first, lovely, beautiful, brown egg!
It’s small . . a pullet egg, which is simply an egg from a hen who’s just started laying. As I recall from my previous chickens, the small, pullet eggs last a few weeks or maybe a month, then they go through a while of laying giant, double yolked eggs before finally laying a uniform, large brown egg most every day.
In the picture above, my new egg is next to a large grocery store egg. You can see the huge difference and the large egg isn’t extra large! With 6 Gold Stars (or Golden Comets) and 7 Production Reds, I’m figuring that within a couple of weeks, I’ll be getting about 10 eggs a day, or close to 6 dozen eggs per week. I’ll probably get a little less than a dozen a week from the three Dominique hens so, if all goes well, I’ll have about 7 dozen eggs per week. Fresh eggs, anyone?
