Here is a photo of our chicks-- ( photo / image / picture from marlingardener's Garden ) Thse are the little fluff balls that arrived on June 1, and that y'all named. They weigh about 2 lbs. now, and are just getting their combs. In about six weeks they will start laying eggs. Their first eggs will be small, and they will lay them wherever the egg happens to drop ("hey, look at that, where did that come from?") until they get the hang of it. We'll blend them with the big ladies shortly after that to form one big, happy flock (I hope!).
City slicker questions: Will the new hens, who have been together for awhile, form a clique? How long does it take before they lay large eggs? Jerry
Jerry, the new chicks will form a flock, but will mix in with the "big ladies" to get food, outside time, and treats. I'll have to stay with them when they first meet each other, otherwise there will be a lot of pecking going on. Picture me with a water bottle and a fly swatter, standing guard in the coop. The water is for me, the swatter is to break up fights! We have separate nighttime roosts for them, and will have separate nest boxes (although they may share nest boxes, too). Our girls will start laying large eggs at about 20 months. The small eggs they lay at first are the size of the medium eggs you get at the grocery. When the girls are fully mature, the eggs are the large to jumbo size, and of course are much tastier than store bought! Eileen, I don't notice how much they have grown because I'm with them daily. My husband went out to take the photo and came back to the house saying, "Those are BIG chicks!"
Jane, Your girls are very pretty. i put my chicks in a side yard with fencing big enough for them to get through, but the big girls can't get into their space. that way they can get used to the bigger flock and still be able to get away from the pecking order. A rooster is also excellent for this job. They don't let the hens fight among themselves. I find it very amusing to watch. My broody hen just hatched another clutch of chicks last week. today, I saw her in the big yard with all the hens and the chicks just run all around the big hens and don't seem to be traumatized by it. She hatched out 6 and I still have all of them. I just hope they aren't a bunch of roosters. I'd send you a few if I could.
I'll bet they'll be doing a lot of funny stuff on their own (like in this video). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GrADWCdojM So do please keep a camera handy for such occasions!
Big chicks, that's a funny comment. I'm glad Jerry asked the city slicker questions -- this is fascinating to me. Here is another: Can you still eat the small eggs? Will hens sit on any egg they lay?
Daisy, the smaller eggs taste just the same as any other egg. The only problem is that young hens, when they start to lay, will put their eggs anywhere. If they are free-ranging, you can spend the better part of a day searching for eggs! I've learned to keep my young hens cooped until they get the hang of using nest boxes. Hens don't sit on eggs unless the hen is broody. That means she wants to raise a family, and will sit on anything round. When Lucy went broody and kept it up for two weeks (she ate very little and defended "her" nest box) I put a few golf balls under her and she was happier. After a week of that she got bored and went back to pecking and carrying on with the rest of the flock. Broody hens are usually a bit testier than normal, and can lose some weight. They generally get over it within a couple of weeks.
