Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

I know of dozens of hens who sit through brooding without any bad outcomes.

Indeed. You can add all of mine to that tally too.

I know of one person whose hen died through a failure of self-care during brooding but that cause of death was assumed rather than confirmed.

Of course sick birds often retire to a nest box, where, if they're hens, it is easily assumed they've gone broody instead of that they're ill.

It seems very few people trust a hen to keep herself adequately fed during brooding.

Astonishing isn't it? As if chickens can't survive or reproduce without human intervention

 

[MaryJanet]

Indeed. You can add all of mine to that tally too.

Of course sick birds often retire to a nest box, where, if they're hens, it is easily assumed they've gone broody instead of that they're ill.

Astonishing isn't it? As if chickens can't survive or reproduce without human intervention

Your reply makes me so happy because I thought I was a lone ranger with respect to holding the view that the hens know what's best for the hens.

Good point about that hen possibly being sick already.

 

[fuzzi]

I do the exact same thing.
Most painful part is ripping all the tape off the cardboard boxes.

I don't rip off the tape. I just pull it out of the dirt once the cardboard is composted

 

[Sally PB]

I use cardboard, the corrugated type. It only lasts a year here in wet, warm, and humid Eastern North Carolina, but it blocks weeds well, and earthworms love it. The soil is loose and ready for planting within a couple months.

I used to be able to get large pieces of cardboard where I worked. I had to weigh them down with piles of leaves/mulch to keep them from blowing away.

It worked VERY well at suppressing the weeds!

 

[BDutch]

A hen who only lays 2 -3x times per week but does not go broody would lay about 120 - 140 eggs in a year.

I doubt the rather ‘poor’ layers lay 2-3 eggs a week through the year like you say.
I reckon the ‘poor’ layers lay about 4-5 eggs a week in spring and summer and if the days start to get shorter they lay less, like 2-3 eggs a week. The broodiness and winter stop brings down the average a lot.

Some old breeds like the Groninger gull lay only an average 60 eggs a years, but they don’t spread it. They start laying rather late in spring and stop laying before the end of the summer.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good evening one and all!

Temperature is in the 60s.

Have a great day!

 

[TropicalChickies]

I doubt the rather ‘poor’ layers lay 2-3 eggs a week through the year like you say.
I reckon the ‘poor’ layers lay about 4-5 eggs a week in spring and summer and if the days start to get shorter they lay less, like 2-3 eggs a week. The broodiness and winter stop brings down the average a lot.

Some old breeds like the Groninger gull lay only an average 60 eggs a years, but they don’t spread it. They start laying rather late in spring and stop laying before the end of the summer.

Depends on where you live and how many hours of sunlight you get at different times of the year. I'm on the equator and we get 12 hours of light and 12 hours or dark every day, all year. We don't have "laying seasons" or "broody seasons" as a result. All my hens lay consistently throughout the year except when broody. And in my old flock, the older hens laid 2-4 eggs per week spread throughout the year.

 

[Shadrach]

Three and a half hours today. We managed to get a couple of hours out on the field in the morning but in the afternoon it rained non stop. More rain tomorrow morning the weather people say.

 

[Shadrach]

I doubt the rather ‘poor’ layers lay 2-3 eggs a week through the year like you say.
I reckon the ‘poor’ layers lay about 4-5 eggs a week in spring and summer and if the days start to get shorter they lay less, like 2-3 eggs a week. The broodiness and winter stop brings down the average a lot.

Some old breeds like the Groninger gull lay only an average 60 eggs a years, but they don’t spread it. They start laying rather late in spring and stop laying before the end of the summer.

I don't think you are taking into account location. Depending on where one is on the planet makes a major difference to both moulting and laying cycles.

 

[Shadrach]

Depends on where you live and how many hours of sunlight you get at different times of the year. I'm on the equator and we get 12 hours of light and 12 hours or dark every day, all year. We don't have "laying seasons" or "broody seasons" as a result. All my hens lay consistently throughout the year except when broody. And in my old flock, the older hens laid 2-4 eggs per week spread throughout the year.

SHRA.