Help with Eccentric neighbor

[RockyFieldsFarm]

I strongly recommend not letting chickens come between two people

Different methods work. It's up to the individual. Fortunately, OP you've had great success with your small flock of 4. Your neighbor, unfortunately, has not. Any of us who have had several larger flocks know that success rates vary - and individual chickens differ within the larger flock.

To play devil's advocate, who's to say your next flock will do so well?

I see no reason for any sense of obligation to give anyone - including your neighbor - chicks that you hatch for no other reason that they belong to you. Nothing else needs to be said.

 

[lazy gardener]

Maybe I should have worded my post differently, lights that gradually come on in the morning are ok. What the OP was describing sounded like the neighbor was going from pitch black to bright light at 2am, which is unnatural. As for the soft eggs, the neighbor should feed more calcium, and you don't have to give chickens to her, they are yours first.

Extra calcium is not always the answer. Some chickens just have defective shell glands. All the calcium in the world won't fix that. Nor is it wrong or right to supply light at one end of the day or the other, or both ends for that matter, or not supply extra light at all. Different husbandry methods for different styles of management. To be telling folks that "my way is the right way, and your way is not the right way" is inflammatory to say the least. What you can do is state how you have chosen to manage your own flock, and how well it has worked for you. Then, it's up to the individual to continue with their management style, or try something different.

 

[McKinneyMike]

Truthfully, how she raises her chickens is none of your business. How you raise your chickens is none of her business. Keep all of the eggs if you want. Be responsible for your birds, ignore the rest.