Hi from the Land of Enchantment

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Enchanted1s

Songster
Sep 25, 2017
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New Mexico
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Hi All - we have recently acquired a sort of community chicken & rooster. Never had chickens before, so thought I better learn what they need.

(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? The neighbors got chickens - one day a little black chick got out of the pen and came over the fence. I could not catch it, and the neighbors couldn't either, so she stayed. A short time later - the neighbors dogs killed all of their chickens. The little black one must have watched the massacre ! Then she really didn't want to go back! (they say the dog also choked to death on chicken bones) Shortly, the neighbors got more chickens, a duck and two roosters. Soon the two roosters were fighting and the neighbor asked if he could throw one of the roosters over with the black chicken. I thought he was kidding, but no - now we have a rooster too. It seemed to be a good thing for the chicken. She calmed down a lot and started laying eggs. They were allowed free range and got along well with our two Nigerian Dwarf Doe's (goats). BUT - the neighbor continues to throw feed through the fence for the chicken and rooster, but our goats loved the feed! Turns out chicken feed is bad for goats! Now, the chicken & rooster have a corner fenced off where the goats cannot access their feed - but I left it where the chicken and rooster can have free range. I had already built them a pallet shelter in the corner.

(2) How many chickens do you have right now? So - we sort of have ONE chicken and ONE rooster.

(3) What breeds do you have? I have no idea what breeds they are. She is mostly black. He has a lot of brown with a red head. (attempting to attach a photo)

(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? I found out about this forum at TheGoatSpot forum - that is where I learned that chicken feed was bad for our goats.

A question if I may... so our chicken has now laid 4 eggs. But, they are in a hole on the ground. We were going to see if she would lay on them. Fall is approaching and I am concerned the eggs will be too cold on the ground. Should I move the eggs to the nesting box I put in their shelter? Or is that a bad idea? Glad I found the forum!
 
Welcome to BYC! Glad to see you've joined us!

Hens will only go broody and want to sit on eggs sometimes. Some breeds are more likely to than others. Just letting eggs sit does not ensure that she will decide to sit. One thing that you can do if you'd like to try to encourage her is set up a secure nest for her and keep a few golf balls in it. You can collect her eggs daily but leave the golf balls. She won't know the difference! If she takes to them and decides to sit, you can give her back a few of her eggs and remove the balls. Good luck!
 
Welcome to the forum. If you want her to lay eggs in a specific spot you need to show her where. Move her eggs to where you want her to lay. Take 2 and place them in her nest box. Keep taking the other eggs so she learns where to lay. She will figure it out.
 

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