Chicken folklore, also known as old wive's tales

[smpezzi]

Here is one I grew up hearing:

If you feed a hen her own crushed egg shells she will start laying brown eggs

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

A hen will only lay an egg in a clean nest.

Whoever came up with that one should look at some of the eggs I got off ebay lol.

 

[fowlwoman1]

chickens lay eggs at night in their sleep.

every time my mom's cousin comes over and hears a rooster crow she says something like, "sounds like your rooster doesn't know it's not morning".

it depends on what you feed your chickens that determines the egg color.

LET'S STOP TALKING ABOUT CORN

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Why?

 

[dacjohns]

Quote:
Why?

It has much potential for turning nasty.

I would like to have links to the research though. I was unsuccessful in finding any research myself.


Thanks for what has been submitted thus far. It's been great.

 

[silkieluvr]

One I hear all the time and it is so annoying!

"Hey I thought only roosters have that red floppy thing on their head

"

GAH!

 

[rufus]

OK, when my father was young, he fell in with a bunch of Gypsies, and traveled around the country with them. They had a sort of trick they did, touching a certain place on the chicken's neck. This would kill the chicken dead, right then.
No flopping around, just dead.

He told me about this, but never showed me how it was done. Maybe he never learned how to do it, or maybe he didn't like to do it. Anyway, I can't do it now either.

And discussions on scratch feed are an apples and oranges thing. Scratch feed varies from one place to another. That scratch I buy is mostly milo, sun flower seeds, with just a little wheat and corn.

The scratch feed my cousin buys in Texas is loaded with corn, but has no sun flower seeds.

Rufus

 

[GopherBoyFarms]

Until we got our chickens (4 months ago at 1 day old) I knew NOTHING about them. Was acctually scared of them. So I didnt know about the crowing thing. I just asked DH the other day....."when our rooster starts to crow will it be only in the morning, or all day". He didnt know, and told me to ask someone here. LOL so I guess now I know. DUH!

 

[ravenfeathers]

Quote:
sorry if i'm misunderstanding you here, mac, but yes, that was what i was talking about in my original and subsequent posts, so i'm not sure where your we is coming from.

Since animals reduce feed intake as it gets hotter, it's better to feed them a high calorie ration so they can maintain on the little that they are eating. I didn't have a specific source in mind when comparing corn to oats, but just did a Google search and found a document that backs up what I said.

http://www.utextension.utk.edu/newsevents/newsletters/HEsummer02.pdf

Although it doesn't go into the nitty gritty details of why, it says to reduce oats and feed more corn in the summer for horses. Less fiber, less protein equals less heating. It says feeding fats would be even better, lots of energy without the heating increment of proteins...

hee, well, i can post links to three more documents via google that back up my assertion and another three that back up yours! at any rate, it looks like there's some squeamishness about continuing this conversation in this particular thread, so i'll bow out with the caveat that, to my mind, this particular tale hasn't been proved to be an old wives one.

 

[sunshinegirl]

A friend of mine thought that the eggs you buy in the store were bleached or had "something done to them" to make them white.

As far as the corn/oats/scratch argument goes, let's take a moment to put it all in perspective. My personal philosophy (for what it's worth) is everything in moderation. I doubt that feeding a small amount of corn or any other type of grain in the summer is going to hurt the chickens. I also doubt that feeding large amounts in winter is going to keep them cozy and comfy when it's 10 below in winter, or compensate for inadequate shelter and care. We could argue the point forever, trying to prove who's right and who's wrong, but we're really not going to get anywhere. Metabolism (in people, chickens, or any living thing) is an extreemely complex process that we're only begining to understand. At any given moment there are countless chemical processes going on inside our own bodies (and our chicken's bodies). My feeling is that, theory aside, in real life a diet that contains a wide variety of healthy, natural foods with nothing in excess is best - for both chickens and people.