Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Molpet]

I've had plenty of egg eaters, but none that specifically target infertile eggs. How would they know? There isn't any development, and they're not brooding on them, so it doesn't make sense to ditch them

instinct to clean up anything that would attract predators. an infertile egg starts to go bad when under a broody and smell.

usually, egg eaters just want the extra proteins or calcium and then it becomes a habit. the egg eater i had stopped when i cooked up eggs and fed them back to the flock. when i started feeding higher proteins feed it wasn't a problem. i always have oyster shells on the side, but some like the egg shells too

 

[Shadrach]

I see this sometimes and I think it can be explained as just a bit stiff after a long spell sitting. The next two quotes encourage me to think that's what was going on with Fret

I hope so.

Talking of which, any news on your move to a new place closer to the allotments?

Not yet. Probably not enough deaths yet. I just have to outlive the rest on the transfer list.

Some are. Eve has been sitting on 2 golf balls, 1 plastic white egg, and 1 rubber brown one, on no nesting material at all (!) since 28 July. I was trying to break her before this as Janeka was already sitting, and stopped chasing her off for fear she would interfere with Janeka and wreck that clutch. I feel really sorry for her now, as she has been pretty diligent with the fakes, carefully gathering them under her when she comes back from her daily ablutions, while they roll around freely on the smooth plastic bottom of the box. If this can be explained by something other than her thinking they're real eggs, I'm listening...

Is Eve blonde by any chance?

On the ground or with wood maybe, but perhaps harder with plastic coops? An egg got broken in Janeka's clutch towards the end of the first week, and I didn't see any ants, including when I cleaned it all out after she'd taken the chicks off for foraging 101.

I had ants after the last breakage in the nest. There was a tiny amount of egg stuck to the base of the nest. The nest box is plastic. There weren't many ants in the box.

 

[fluffycrow]

instinct to clean up anything that would attract predators. an infertile egg starts to go bad when under a broody and smell.

usually, egg eaters just want the extra proteins or calcium and then it becomes a habit. the egg eater i had stopped when i cooked up eggs and fed them back to the flock. when i started feeding higher proteins feed it wasn't a problem. i always have oyster shells on the side, but some like the egg shells too

Absolutely. But why would a non-broody hen throw infertile eggs put of the nest?

 

[Molpet]

Absolutely. But why would a non-broody hen throw infertile eggs put of the nest?

well one reason could be they aren't hers
or she is just a jerk digging around making the nest to her liking

 

[Perris]

Is Eve blonde by any chance?

Did you have a particular celebrity in mind? Dumb, persistent, both? Actually, she's quite the opposite of blonde, unless you count the silver bit blonde!

 

[fluffycrow]

Did you have a particular celebrity in mind? Dumb, persistent, both? Actually, she's quite the opposite of blonde, unless you count the silver bit blonde! View attachment 3605929

Maybe she's blonde in her heart

 

[Shadrach]

How would they know?

A very interesting question. I don't know how they know but it seems they do know. It's at what point in the eggs developement that is interesting. At day 17 or 18 one can assume that the hen can feel movement in the egg. It seems possible that the han may be able to detect changes in the density of the eggs earlier.
It's a bit like the going broody business. I know that many of the hens I've had go broody changed their behaviour before they laid the first egg. For some weeks, sometimes months they'll lay eggs in the same spot in a coop along with the others. One day they change and start laying eggs in another spot away from their tribe and sure enough, leave them to it and a week or two later they're sitting.
This I found to be very common behaviour with pullets who have difficulty sitting in the coops nest boxes because senior hens have driven them off the nest. It happens enough to be more than a random event.

 

[fluffycrow]

A very interesting question. I don't know how they know but it seems they do know. It's at what point in the eggs developement that is interesting. At day 17 or 18 one can assume that the hen can feel movement in the egg. It seems possible that the han may be able to detect changes in the density of the eggs earlier.
It's a bit like the going broody business. I know that many of the hens I've had go broody changed their behaviour before they laid the first egg. For some weeks, sometimes months they'll lay eggs in the same spot in a coop along with the others. One day they change and start laying eggs in another spot away from their tribe and sure enough, leave them to it and a week or two later they're sitting.
This I found to be very common behaviour with pullets who have difficulty sitting in the coops nest boxes because senior hens have driven them off the nest. It happens enough to be more than a random event.

I have no doubt that broody females know if the egg is fertile or not, especially as the embryos (or lack thereof) become more developed. Cruella did this with one of her eggs as well, she actually bit a hole into it, and then threw it out. Broodies are a magical thing. I was asking how would a non-broody female know that an egg is fertilized, when there's no development. Sorry if I made it confusing

 

[BDutch]

Cruella threw out her infertile eggs while she was brooding as well. But the non-broody hens only seem to throw out the fake eggs

Apparently is the behavior of hens towards fake or infertile eggs very different from one breed/individual/flock compared to another.

My Dutch and other bantams only kicked out ping pong balls . (I don’t use them anymore).
I left one fake chalk egg in the nest during the breeding proces last hatch. I had 11 eggs and thought it would be wise to give an even amount to both hens. Avoiding any jealousy. I can’t remember that the fake egg was kicked out in the end. But one broody did kick out an egg that started to smell.

Fyi: They sold these chalk as Easter eggs in spring to paint. These eggs have exactly the right bantam size.

Egg tax: Left: 3 bantam eggs. Right: 3 eggs from the shop. Tiny: 3 fairy eggs I collected over the years.

 

[BDutch]

Did you have a particular celebrity in mind? Dumb, persistent, both? Actually, she's quite the opposite of blonde, unless you count the silver bit blonde! View attachment 3605929

Someone who lives in my neighbourhood came over to ask advice because she is completely new with chickens and likes to do things right* from the start. She came over twice already. She told me she bought 6 blonde Sussex pullets. ** And can pick them up as soon as she has finished the run.
Of course I wondered if the pullets would resemble a real blonde. She showed me a picture, guess what?.

*not tight (edited-typo)
**Buff colombia - very nice colouring.