Alpha Hen in flock of two??

[Linda V]

Thanks for the "ovation" vote! That was the last thing I expected to see on here...lol! I saw another "ovation" for original....that was funny and sweet!

We now have 3 eggs from our "girls" in 2 days!!! I also think they are settling down a bit AND I found a humane and gentle way of "exerting my dominance over the alpha hen (Abigail) and
it seems to be working well too!

Now John is on line searching for a way to SAFELY and SECURELY extend an additional "runner" to their chicken factory coop (7' is not enough).

Will keep you posted! :0)

Linda V in NC
7/11/16

 

[Linda V]

We never thought we'd have 3 eggs in two days - so that was a really big surprise! Btw...my mom is from Milwaukee and I started Kindergarten there (I was born 1946). My grand dad was VP of the Lakeside Bridge & Steel Co., either in Mil. or Wauwatosa...(sp?) Sorry, but it's not in google spell check...lol!

I put a very low wattage night light (battery) in their coop so as soon as they "retire" for the night...I go out and turn it off...am I nuts or what?

Do you happen to know if eating crushed oyster shells gives their egg a stronger, hardier shell? We would like to be able to leave home now and then, ya know??? Thanks!

Linda V in NC

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Eating oyster shells should give them enough calcium to make good shells, but things like stress, heat and age of hen can cause the quality to go down. The hardest shells are in the young and in the first eggs after a molt. Many hens don't eat a lot of oyster shells, especially if they are fed layer, but it's always a good idea to have a bowl available as sometimes if they get depleted they can start egg eating for the calcium.

So you are technically a Wisconsinite. It a nice state in my opinion, though technically I was born in Chicago but moved here at age 4. You spelled Wauwatosa correctly. After learning more about other states climates from this website I have come to appreciate our state and all it has to offer.

I am terrible with leaving my home too, I have lots of critters to tend to. Your hens probably appreciate the night light, especially since your place is all new to them. I think it is a sweet thing to do.

 

[Linda V]

Thanks for adding more info to my near-empty cup of knowledge about chickens! Every little bit of information helps but the reason I was asking was because of my serious concerns regarding their laying eggs when we are not home to gather them.

I'm thinking if we take off for a 4-5 day trip (we have no one to watch or gather eggs in our absence) what happens if they lay a few eggs and they BREAK and things get messy and disgusting in their nests?

This would be the only concern when we are not here as we have an indoor self-watering system for the girls in their "roosting/nesting" area that would last up to 7+ days and a self-feeding & self-watering PVC system for them when they are in the 7-foot long "pen" area below the housing.

I just cannot imagine them not being able to "nest" in our absence if they have broken and rotten eggs in their nests!

Any advice on this since you have many more birds than we do? We are still researching longer, chicken runs that we can set up for them for when we are home and when we are not here. They both put themselves to bed at dusk each night and after an hour or so, then I go out say goodnight to Henrietta & Abigail while I slowly open their roosting area window and turn off the dim "night light"....

The one thing we both know is that whatever we create for them must be covered on ALL FOUR SIDES! We have a 5-foot privacy fence but you know that does not keep out tree-climbing predators - especially those who can dig under a fence or coop enclosure.

In case you want to share this....we buy the small, cheap, dark green, garden fencing (10-foot sections) and jam the pointy ends into the bottom edge of our coop on all four sides laying down flat on the ground! I came up with this ingenious (lol) idea and it works great!

Since we do have O'Possums, coons & cats that sneak into our huge back yard from time to time, I have a large size Hav-A-Heart cage with bait in it that all 3 like as a lure. So, if a CAT creeps in during the day or night and they go for the fishy cat treats - they are trapped in the cage and then we relocate them about 2 miles away in the country side!

If, however, it's a coon or possum, we just release them and they are so terrified by then they never return!

Anyway....I appreciate the advice and I'm going to have more time to read about caring for chickens starting today so by the end of this month when we leave for a 3 1/2 day trip, I won't stress about them the entire time.

Oh...thanks for letting me know I spelled Wauwatosa correctly.....gotta be an Indian name for sure...lol! Had to laugh when you said "technically I'm a Wisconsinite, but I can't say that's really true...I was born/raised in the countryside of northwestern NJ (Bernardsville) but I only tell people where I "from" if they make me! I'm a true southerner in my heart, however and I'll never leave Dixie! BTW: Merrill Streep was a Freshman in my HS when I was a senior!

Write if and when you have time between feedings at your PETTING ZOO! Here's our coop & an internet pic of a Dominique hen!













7/12/16

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Your exaggerating.Your more worried then she is.Infact the Dominating hen probably isnt even hurting the other one.Just let it proceed....

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Technically they should be able to lay eggs and not break them in your nests. If not a quick clean out when you get home. They should just keep laying. It's normal for hens to last in clutches, so they should be fine.

I do have zoo. I somehow find myself with 94 chickens this year, more than I ever have had and probably the only time I will have so many. Mine are mostly free range. We do have cats coons, and skunks and they don't give us any troubles, occasionally a coyote comes calling and then we have troubles. We do have donkeys that keep critters out of the shed, and my husband is a hunter so he's always eager to get stuff. Though we did relocate a couple of coons who were fat on cat food, took them to some state land with a nice stream.

I always recommend giving chickens as much room as possible, so it's good you are expanding the run. You can cover the top with bird netting which is cheaper, but probably not real secure. I guess I'm not the right person to talk about runs, but there's lots of good answers on this site, check out the coop and run forum to see about some good ideas and to share yours, which is smart.

Really nice looking hen, I haven't had a Dominique yet, just haven't gotten around to it.

 

[Linda V]

OMG! You have a tremendous amt of animals & poultry! I wished I could have a pet Skunk too....seriously! They do make excellent pets, but I can't have any critters that will die if left unattended for 4-5 days, so my days of being owned by a dog are over too.

I was almost in tears last night telling John that it dawned on me how nasty and disgusting their nests could become if we are not here every day to glean eggs! He looked at me and when he heard my words, he started to laugh and then said "oh noooo.....now their PETS!" Then I laughed too and it turned into something really funny from there!

We both WANT the girls to have more room to roam and even tho their coop is a tractor - that doesn't matter. They need and should have more room!! We are working on that and will probably come up with something also "portable" that will be covered on 3 sides with hardware cloth and then we can let them into that during the day. When they go into their roosting/nesting den at dusk, however, we close them in for the night. That will not happen when we are gone so - they must have a secure "run" which means safe from digging predators as well. Otherwise, I will not rest easy during our trips!

No eggs today, but they are getting along better....at least when I'm around...lol!

Thanks for sharing all that with me today. I'll copy/paste your msg to John so he can learn along with me!

Bye for now!

Linda in NC

 

[donrae]

You have some great advice here.

I just want to add, if you have literally no one to chicken sit, now is the time to make new friends. Talk to folks at work, church, etc. If all else fails, contact your local 4-H or FFA leader and get some leads on good responsible kiddos to watch your birds. If you have an emergency, the last thing you want to be worrying about is who will watch your animals.

 

[Linda V]

Okay....I'll do that! Have an eggcelent day now!

 

[Linda V]

That's a great idea, but when you live out as far as we do, have no family within 4-hours drive and your kids are grown and gone (we are both empty nesters...no pun intended) and you don't belong to any civic or church groups anymore...that's a tough one!

We may have to see about the 4-H but if they live too far away...they most likely will not do it.

Thanks for the good advice however!

Linda in NC