Arizona Chickens

[Parront]

Here's the pre-hatch report:

I dug the eggs that Mari was sitting on out of the straw and candled them. There were 4 Dorking sized eggs with no chicks, and 1 Leghorn sized egg with a chick inside but no movement. This hatch is due July 1st or 2nd. I know they have been eating eggs and no eggs were laid outside the nest that Mari is in.

I just candled the eggs in the incubator. This is Day 7 for them. Five definitely had chicks, and 4-5 were maybes. I'm still pretty amateur at this candling business.

I plan to let Mari continue to sit on the eggs, and the next time she goes broody, I'll pull all the real eggs out from under her and replace them with ceramic ones to try to break them both of eating eggs. They always have plenty of food, there's no reason for them to eat eggs or maybe even chicks. Ewww. That's cannibalism. Yuck.

The hens sometimes "get rid of" a bad egg they will push it out of the nest and it breaks, they will eat it to remove something that could attract a predator to the nest, just like a wild bird does. Animals will eat the after-birth for the same reason. I just try to not give them a reason to need to do such clean-up!

 

[springvalley123]

The hens sometimes "get rid of" a bad egg they will push it out of the nest and it breaks, they will eat it to remove something that could attract a predator to the nest, just like a wild bird does. Animals will eat the after-birth for the same reason. I just try to not give them a reason to need to do such clean-up!

I was grossed out when I saw one of my ducks do this! she pecked through the shell with her bill and ate the contents! her mom did push away two eggs which it turned out were bad. (I don't have ducks any more btw)

 

[Parront]

I was grossed out when I saw one of my ducks do this! she pecked through the shell with her bill and ate the contents! her mom did push away two eggs which it turned out were bad. (I don't have ducks any more btw)

I let my pair of Rouens hatch, she was acting broody and not laying anyway. Now, 2 new ducklings and she is still guarding the nest with eggs in it, she rejected a couple that had 1/2 developed ducks, open and partly eaten before I trashed them! Smells soooo awful! But, so much easier than the incubator.

 

[Parront]

The new ducklings in the yard with their mom last week. They are already bigger!

 

[CaroleW]

This is what happens when you let a BOSS sprout in the compost dumped in a greenhouse bed. I've already gotten 2 bouquets from the smaller flowers on bottom. Not bad if you ask me...

 

[Parront]

This is what happens when you let a BOSS sprout in the compost dumped in a greenhouse bed. I've already gotten 2 bouquets from the smaller flowers on bottom. Not bad if you ask me...
View attachment 2735897

If you let your birds in the compost, that will not happen!

 

[BlueBaby]

This is what happens when you let a BOSS sprout in the compost dumped in a greenhouse bed. I've already gotten 2 bouquets from the smaller flowers on bottom. Not bad if you ask me...
View attachment 2735897

That sort of look's like 2 plant's that were growing in my yard over here a couple of year's ago. My DH said that they were an invasive plant so he sprayed them with weed killer.

 

[Coffee N Chickens]

The hens sometimes "get rid of" a bad egg they will push it out of the nest and it breaks, they will eat it to remove something that could attract a predator to the nest, just like a wild bird does. Animals will eat the after-birth for the same reason. I just try to not give them a reason to need to do such clean-up!

That sounds like it! The eggs were pushed out of the nest, down the ramp, and into the corner, then eaten. Regardless, as soon as I finish eating lunch, Mari's bee-hind is going to be sitting on 4 ceramic and 1 Leghorn egg.

I bookmarked the link BlueBaby posted, and even though their protein levels should be fine, they'll be getting tuna on top of their pellets today. I don't have any chicken toys, but they're not bored. Their attention is on the Dorking chicks. They can see and hear them, and Dora has been paying lots of attention to them.

Nature maybe, but still yuck!

 

[CaroleW]

That sort of look's like 2 plant's that were growing in my yard over here a couple of year's ago. My DH said that they were an invasive plant so he sprayed them with weed killer.

I say let them invade...LOL. The top blooms will give me more seeds to feed I hope. Also I'ves seen some say it's a good cover crop plant if I plant outside it will smother some weeds and be a good chop and drop mulch.

 

[Parront]

That sounds like it! The eggs were pushed out of the nest, down the ramp, and into the corner, then eaten. Regardless, as soon as I finish eating lunch, Mari's bee-hind is going to be sitting on 4 ceramic and 1 Leghorn egg.

I bookmarked the link BlueBaby posted, and even though their protein levels should be fine, they'll be getting tuna on top of their pellets today. I don't have any chicken toys, but they're not bored. Their attention is on the Dorking chicks. They can see and hear them, and Dora has been paying lots of attention to them.

Nature maybe, but still yuck!

All the things in that link are good, and just boil down to not giving them a reason/chance to eat eggs! They can learn how tasty they are and then are almost impossible to break of the habit. I like to get cat kibble from Costco, 30% protein and small enough to mix into their scratch. (If you worry about such things you should get the Salmon/fish flavor -- mine like the chicken cat food just fine)! Scratch is worthless as protein, I give them wild bird seed that is about 12-15% protien and add in enough of the cat food to get it up to 20%. Ducks get it straight as a treat, lots of Niacin and it floats.