BYC Café

[Shadrach]

good afternoon all
overcast again here today, a bit sticky, but nothing by comparison with what a lot of you folk are enduring.

So you will be forcing Tack in, or is the site so tricky you'll leave her be?

My Eve has gone broody again, and she actually lays quite well early in the year before raising broods, so I'm letting her have one of her own, together with one each from Venka, Usk and Gigi. If they all hatch, all the layers will then have at least one offspring in the flock, which I think is nice.

One of the reasons hens, particularly pullets which is what Tack is, nest away from the coops is because they can't defend their nests from the senior hens. They get thrown off the nest when seniors want to lay, thrown off by seniors who do not think they should be sitting and very occasionally thrown off by the senior rooster. It seems in the world of chickens that the more senior the hen, the more right she has to sit and mate with the senior rooster. It all makes evolutionary sense. You get to be senior for a reason. It's not just luck.
If a pullet isn't confident about defending her nest then she isn't going to be able to defend her chicks. I've seen this a number of times now. It's not so much a question of the other hens harming the chicks; it's about competing for food, safety spots, rooster attention etc.
Then there is the question of egg fertility. Senior hens will interrupt mating if they can and while the pullet may have a pile of eggs, many may not be fertile.
When pullets have sat and hatched they have tended to isolate themselves from the tribe. This greatly increases the risk of predation to them and their chicks. Ideally one wants the quickest possible integration so mum and chicks get tribe protection.
So, no I won't be letting her sit and hatch. She is deep in a pile of brush. Some of the brush is heavy. Not knowing exactly where she is and not being able to investigate deeper into the pile without risking trapping her and possibly injuring her makes things more difficult. I'm hoping she'll come out again tomorrow. Then I can dismantle the pile without worrying about injuring her in the process.

 

[Shadrach]

Morning! Thanks for the coffee and that is all I am taking...

Don't fancy a nice bit of fried rat then?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Maybe send it here make a sandwich for roof guy it would be fitting

 

[CapricornFarm]

Scaredy cat donates puked up mouse parts.

Crazy Cat just pukes up cat food. They are not allowed outside. Coyotes might get them.

 

[pennyJo1960]

4 inside stay inside cleaned up a big mess hairball from one
last night ..... 3 outside do not come in find dead snakes, voles and mice
waiting for me to find

 

[sourland]

Maybe send it here make a sandwich for roof guy it would be fitting

penny, I don't EVER want to piss you off.

 

[ronott1]

 

[Perris]

One of the reasons hens, particularly pullets which is what Tack is, nest away from the coops is because they can't defend their nests from the senior hens. They get thrown off the nest when seniors want to lay, thrown off by seniors who do not think they should be sitting and very occasionally thrown off by the senior rooster. It seems in the world of chickens that the more senior the hen, the more right she has to sit and mate with the senior rooster. It all makes evolutionary sense. You get to be senior for a reason. It's not just luck.
If a pullet isn't confident about defending her nest then she isn't going to be able to defend her chicks. I've seen this a number of times now. It's not so much a question of the other hens harming the chicks; it's about competing for food, safety spots, rooster attention etc.
Then there is the question of egg fertility. Senior hens will interrupt mating if they can and while the pullet may have a pile of eggs, many may not be fertile.
When pullets have sat and hatched they have tended to isolate themselves from the tribe. This greatly increases the risk of predation to them and their chicks. Ideally one wants the quickest possible integration so mum and chicks get tribe protection.
So, no I won't be letting her sit and hatch. She is deep in a pile of brush. Some of the brush is heavy. Not knowing exactly where she is and not being able to investigate deeper into the pile without risking trapping her and possibly injuring her makes things more difficult. I'm hoping she'll come out again tomorrow. Then I can dismantle the pile without worrying about injuring her in the process.

Very interesting observations; thanks Shad. Good luck with the deconstruction of the brush pile!

 

[pennyJo1960]

penny, I don't EVER want to piss you off.

Never have never will your just like my gone uncle George

 

[DobieLover]

Astrid has her brood out in the pen regularly now. She demands that they all be let out to partake in the morning ritual of going after the 4 small handfuls of bird seed I toss for them. So much so she jumped up and tried to rip the bag out of my hand.
Later in the afternoon I went to check on the food situation before going down to work on the house and one d'Uccle and one Sebright were in the run near the run door and the coop pop door while mom and the rest were out of eyesight out in the pen just past the run door. I tried to corral the little buggers out the run door. The Sebright went that way. The d'Uccle shrieked and fluttered into the coop where I couldn't get my hands on it. I turned around to see Big Daddy ready to give me what for! He did not like me messing with "his" kids AT ALL. Good boy! Also good boy he did nothing more than a Mexican stand off when I stood up, pointed at him and said NO.