Aloha From Maui! 3 Feral Hens adopted us!

[Maui-Peg]

Aloha!

Hoping someone can answer a couple of questions.. New Hen Lover here!

We have 3 Feral Hens that have adopted us... Yay! Asked for eggs... got them! Made a few mistakes...

1. What kind of Hens do we have?

2. Found the eggs first time, took all of them... learned the lesson as they stopped laying there. Found the eggs in a new spot, took most of them... our girl Rosie went back to the spot... (that I had accidentally scared her out of)... But I think she is "Broody" like Laying eggs there and sleeping there... the other two hens are sleeping in the trees... How can I stop this... we have a lot of cats in the area... last night, I closed her in the gate to protect her...
UPDATE... Rosie just came out to eat!
3. I would love for them to lay eggs in nesting boxes... how would I go about encouraging that? I put some out no luck though...

We appreciate any help ... ; ). Mahalo!

 

[NatJ]

We have 3 Feral Hens that have adopted us...
1. What kind of Hens do we have?

Mixed breeds. You aren't going to find purebreeds running around feral and being careful to only breed with their own breed.

2. our girl Rosie went back to the spot... (that I had accidentally scared her out of)... But I think she is "Broody" like Laying eggs there and sleeping there... the other two hens are sleeping in the trees... How can I stop this... we have a lot of cats in the area... last night, I closed her in the gate to protect her...
UPDATE... Rosie just came out to eat!

If you want Rosie to quit being broody, try just taking away the eggs every single day.
People who keep chickens in a coop will often put a broody hen in a cage--all wire, including floor, with food and water and a perch but no nest. Within a few days, she quits being broody. (The theory is that she needs lots of cool, fresh air on her belly for several days to cause a change in hormones, so she'll quit being broody.) With your feral hens, I'm not sure what would work best.

Since they've already lived to grow up, she might be OK with the cats around--maybe she would pick a nest the cats cannot reach, or maybe she can chase off the cats. A broody hen can be a bit scary sometimes. Yes, she might get eaten by a cat--but if there are cats and feral chickens, and some chickens are still around, then clearly the cats do not eat them all.

3. I would love for them to lay eggs in nesting boxes... how would I go about encouraging that? I put some out no luck though...

The usual suggestion is to have the nestboxes inside a chicken coop or pen, and shut the hens in for several days so they have few choices, and then they start laying in the nestboxes. After they've formed a habit of it, they can usually be allowed out again and will keep coming back to lay their eggs.

With yours being feral hens, and running loose all the time, I don't know.

Maybe put a few fake eggs in the nestbox, then take all eggs from their other nests. They might decide the other nests are not safe, look for a new one, and start laying in the one that you provided. (Having several "eggs" in it already will help them think it's safe.)

Or, you could just get some fake eggs, and every time you find one of their nests, take the real eggs and put a few fake ones there instead. That way they think it's still safe, and they keep laying in that nest--but you know where to find it, so you can collect the new eggs each day.

 

[Maui-Peg]

Mixed breeds. You aren't going to find purebreeds running around feral and being careful to only breed with their own breed.



If you want Rosie to quit being broody, try just taking away the eggs every single day.
People who keep chickens in a coop will often put a broody hen in a cage--all wire, including floor, with food and water and a perch but no nest. Within a few days, she quits being broody. (The theory is that she needs lots of cool, fresh air on her belly for several days to cause a change in hormones, so she'll quit being broody.) With your feral hens, I'm not sure what would work best.

Since they've already lived to grow up, she might be OK with the cats around--maybe she would pick a nest the cats cannot reach, or maybe she can chase off the cats. A broody hen can be a bit scary sometimes. Yes, she might get eaten by a cat--but if there are cats and feral chickens, and some chickens are still around, then clearly the cats do not eat them all.



The usual suggestion is to have the nestboxes inside a chicken coop or pen, and shut the hens in for several days so they have few choices, and then they start laying in the nestboxes. After they've formed a habit of it, they can usually be allowed out again and will keep coming back to lay their eggs.

With yours being feral hens, and running loose all the time, I don't know.

Maybe put a few fake eggs in the nestbox, then take all eggs from their other nests. They might decide the other nests are not safe, look for a new one, and start laying in the one that you provided. (Having several "eggs" in it already will help them think it's safe.)

Or, you could just get some fake eggs, and every time you find one of their nests, take the real eggs and put a few fake ones there instead. That way they think it's still safe, and they keep laying in that nest--but you know where to find it, so you can collect the new eggs each day.

 

[Maui-Peg]

Mahalo for the help! I’ll keep you all posted!!

 

[Maui-Peg]

Do Farel hens cover their eggs when they are out eating? Ours lay them in the leaves... after we took the eggs(because Rosie was being Broody)... they are no longer laying them in that spot...

 

[WalnutTree]

I believe this is a safety thing, the hens bury the eggs so predators don't find and eat them. This is just a guess but maybe (sense chickens love their routines), they are not laying in that spot because they deemed it unsafe. They are feral and they know the risks of predators, so moving the nest or keeping it consistent might deter the predator. In this case, it is you, and if my guess is correct, that is not good. I am not sure how to solve this either sense i myself have never had experience with feral hens.

 

[Maui-Peg]

Well they stay in the yard all day so my guess is they are laying in the yard again we just have to find them and make sure that they don’t know that we have… ha... They’re still coming in to be fed Etc. Either way it’s been fun they are fun to watch for sure!