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emorems0 said:
I'm afraid to go outside and look at my pepper plants.. and also, Hi! I thought I could keep up when I jumped back in here a few months ago, but I failed again.

Back with a broody question... it's my first time ::blush:: and I've had chickens for 5 years! I have two broodies sharing a nest box. There have been no other eggs to gather from the unoccupied nest box even though there are 4 other laying hens in that coop. I've caught a 3rd chicken laying in the same box as the broodies. Is it bad that they are letting other chickens add eggs even though they've been sitting solidly for over a week? Or is it likely they are eating the other eggs as they get laid? I smelled rotten eggs in the coop yesterday and tried to take a peak under them. I spotted an odd egg and snatched it out. There was a shell and membrane smashed onto another egg. At first I thought it looked like and egg within an egg where the outside shell broke off a bit, but thinking back, it may be a broken/eaten egg shell just got smashed into another egg and adhered. I think it is a real mess under them because they are crowded into one box and also letting other chickens in there and eggs are getting broken. I'm planning on moving them tonight to their own space, but I'm not sure how to handle the mess of eggs. If there are smashed egg shells stuck on other eggs, should those eggs be discarded?
*3 chickens in this box :rolleyes:
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Sounds like eggs are just getting broken. It is normal for the others to get in to lay. Your situation has resulted in broken eggs here too.
 
emorems0 said:
So what does that mean for hatch day? If some eggs dont start incubate until a week or more after the others?
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If you have 2 dedicated broodies, I would move them both to their own individual cage so nobody else can bother them. Give them each some eggs and food/water. I'd candle the eggs before putting them under the broody - you can sometimes see there is clearly no growth (egg laid recently) or possible growth, cracks, etc. Use your own judgement upon inspecting eggs, and give the viable ones to the broodies then hope for the best!
 
emorems0 said:
So what does that mean for hatch day? If some eggs dont start incubate until a week or more after the others?
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I would follow through on your plan to move them to a secure area with a bigger nest.... but don't plan on their current eggs for the hatch, they are likely messed up from the broken egg incidents and staggered for hatch date also.... both of those scenarios will result in a poor hatch situation.
I would move them and let them settle with their current eggs but collect from the other layers for a few days, storing the new eggs with fat side up in an egg carton till you collect the number you want the hens to hatch. Once you have your eggs, Mark them with a sharpie with #s.... 1 through whatever.... and pull the soiled eggs to toss and give the hens the fresh ones, then mark your calendar for 3 weeks, + or - a day.

A broody in general population should be allowed a few 'sacrificial eggs' to keep her happy while a real egg clutch is gathered, then swap out as a group. Always mark any hatching eggs for a broody in general population so you can pull 'intruder' eggs daily. You dont want the hatching dates staggered because it can cause problems when mama wants to leave nest with 1 or 2 day old chicks and other eggs are still baking or other chicks are too newly hatched to keep up. It is a sad situation but mama hen will usually abandon late eggs to care for those already hatched.
 
fisherlady said:
I would follow through on your plan to move them to a secure area with a bigger nest.... but don't plan on their current eggs for the hatch, they are likely messed up from the broken egg incidents and staggered for hatch date also.... both of those scenarios will result in a poor hatch situation.
I would move them and let them settle with their current eggs but collect from the other layers for a few days, storing the new eggs with fat side up in an egg carton till you collect the number you want the hens to hatch. Once you have your eggs, Mark them with a sharpie with #s.... 1 through whatever.... and pull the soiled eggs to toss and give the hens the fresh ones, then mark your calendar for 3 weeks, + or - a day.

A broody in general population should be allowed a few 'sacrificial eggs' to keep her happy while a real egg clutch is gathered, then swap out as a group. Always mark any hatching eggs for a broody in general population so you can pull 'intruder' eggs daily. You dont want the hatching dates staggered because it can cause problems when mama wants to leave nest with 1 or 2 day old chicks and other eggs are still baking or other chicks are too newly hatched to keep up. It is a sad situation but mama hen will usually abandon late eggs to care for those already hatched.
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Thank you, this makes a lot of sense!
 
jillian and jane.jpg

THANK YOU! You know who you are!
 
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Auroradream26 said:
Ok, what's going on around here? 38° on June 4th? This isn't right...
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The weather is crazy! It's cold this morning and then hot again the afternoon.

We backed out from the last house purchase, because I just cannot get over with all the limitation of chicken keeping. Luckily, we just find a new house in Port Matilda with no limitation at all. :celebrate The closing date will be next month though, so I wouldn't ready for chickens this year. Next spring, I will definitely visit Dennis for chicks :D. This fall and winter will have lots of coop construction jobs to do. I will try to update my coop building process here.
 
NOT AN ORPINGTON
Sooo.....I finally got two long time grail hens--a beautiful Cream Crested Legbar and an stunning ebony Ameraucana--the real deal--not an EE!
I even got two BLUE eggs within 24 hours of putting them in the run!
I was one HAPPY HAPPY human!
The Ameraucauna was especially so sweet and docile--eating out of my hand immediately--you could tell she came from a great animal loving original home.

Last evening, as it was getting dark, I went outside to help the newbies into the henhouse. All my old girls had already tucked in; I found the Legbar roosting on top of the Chicken playpen , but the Ameraucana...where the heck was she? I combed the henhouse and got my husband and son to help me look for a black hen in the fading light.
Not in the run.
Not on the neighbor's property to the left.
Not on the roof of the other neighbors' converted barn to garage, which is behind the privacy fence that is part of my chicken run fence.
Not IN that garage either.
Or under the cars.
Not under the lilacs or peonies.
Not under the hosta.
Not tangled in the lily leaves.
Not in the front yard.
Not heading to State Street (I asked a couple who was walking past our house in that direction. They giggled.)
I was starting to get queasy from fright.
She wasn't exactly replaceable, and SUCH a sweetie pie.

"I found her!" My husband yelled.
She was perched in the cherry tree which overhangs the run--10 feet in the air. We must have walked under her a dozen times without a cluck or a poop on our heads to help us find her.
NONE of my portly layers would even ever DREAM of going in a tree.

Two more blue eggs today....
...and some black feathers from where I trimmed her wings!
 
Today on As the Coop Turns....Ebony, furious that Ana's babies resemble her, abandons her own nest and challenges Ana for maternal rights. Ana, angry that Ebony is trying to steal her babies, is standing her ground, claiming the babies for herself. The babies are in a state of confusion knowing that they hatched under Ana, but Ebony speaks their language. Who will get the rights to be mom? Will they split the babies and go their separate ways? Will they work together? Only time will tell lol

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