Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

I had to look online just to understand the meaning of addled. Most information I found relate to wild birds conservation, and they do make a difference between addled and infertile eggs. Some reasons I saw mentioned were shaking the egg, bad genetics, deliberately oiling the eggs (as birth control), a little hole in it.
If you're very motivated you could read this. Or this for a lighter historical read though not exactly on the same subject .

thank you; I'll read them both when the Pageant is over (*** ducks to avoid eggs being thrown in my direction by Shadrach *** )

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

80 and partly sunny.

Have a great day!

 

[Shadrach]

thank you; I'll read them both when the Pageant is over (*** ducks to avoid eggs being thrown in my direction by Shadrach *** )

I wouldn't waste an egg on a royalist.

 

[Shadrach]

I always left it to mother hen to decide when to go off the nest with the chicks. If she leaves the nest for > 1 hour , the eggs are abandoned and wil not hatch anymore.
When you discard the eggs that are left in the nest you may find different stages of undeveloped embryos or death chicks. Some (full grown ) chicks live until hatch time but are to week hatch. For me that’s part of nature and I don’t interfere.

The length of time a hen is off her clutch of eggs for depends on more than the length of time I've found. Donk for example left her nest for over three hours once. I was concerend and I thought she had given up on the hatching. She went back, sat for the rest of the time still taking longer daily breaks than I thought she should. Like yourself, I try not to interfere, jsut chew my nails if things are not going as I think they should. Donk still hatched two out of four. One non hatcher wasn't fertile and the other had a damaged shell and chick development had stopped at about day nine I estimated.
On the hot days in Catalonia; it's usually quite humid there, hens will often take more than an hour away from the nest. Donk was the longest I noticed.
I think environmental conditions have a major impact.

 

[BDutch]

ManueB send lots of rain to the North. It raining and here.

Todays tax (if that’s allowed?)

Not a coop but art. (At an exhibition at the former queens palace).

If you look closer you can see the structure contains at least a 1000 jars with water. All from different locations and different colours . Some with water plants in it. Some crystal clear. Many with algea.

Now I am dreaming of building an organic formed coop with used wine bottles.

Time to build it.
I have been counting. With an average of 2 bottles a week = 500 weeks = almost 10 years.

 

[GregnLety]

I wouldn't waste an egg on a royalist.

Not even a rotten egg?

 

[Shadrach]

I do the same.

I collected them myself and 2 hatched, so I don't think that played a part. And I excluded the rest of the flock during incubation, precisely because that's been an issue with this hen in the past. I hope it's obvious what happened when I open the eggs, but maybe the mystery will persist.

I have never put eggs under a hen.
They lay them do or don't sit and that's been it. I'll take donations from other hens away but I don't interfere with the hens nest or eggs otherwise, apart from carefully making a mark on her eggs.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

ManueB send lots of rain to the North. It raining and here.

Todays tax (if that’s allowed?)
View attachment 3137191
Not a coop but art. (At an exhibition at the former queens palace).

If you look closer you can see the structure contains at least a 1000 jars with water. All from different locations and different colours . Some with water plants in it. Some crystal clear. Many with algea.

Now I am dreaming of building an organic formed coop with used wine bottles.

Time to build it.
I have been counting. With an average of 2 bottles a week = 500 weeks = almost 10 years.

You need to ask your friends for their empty wine bottles so you could get a quicker start.

 

[townchicks]

She is correct but only has one part of the equation.
1) breed identity, colour and shape.
2) Relatedness, brothers and sisters may look different to their parents and/or their siblings but they are still accepted as one of the tribe.
3) Status, if there is a different breed with different looks established in a tribe then any newcomers will accept that chicken as part of the tribe.

If you have a group where there is no common breed and/or features then they tend to relate best to those that look most similar. Such is the case with Ribh's group. This is particularly relevant in larger groups.

Just to muddy the water more, in my extremely small sample, the chickens affinity seems to be age/familiarity related. None of them look alike, and the 2 six year olds, Harper and Nevada (EE and RIR) hang together most and the 3 yo Shelley and Louise (Java and EE) hang together the most. The EEs are different colors and at opposite ends of the hierarchy, Harper is top, and often picks on Lou. Size and body type seem to have nothing to do with it. They do however, move about their different areas as a group.

 

[Shadrach]

I had to look online just to understand the meaning of addled. Most information I found relate to wild birds conservation, and they do make a difference between addled and infertile eggs. Some reasons I saw mentioned were shaking the egg, bad genetics, deliberately oiling the eggs (as birth control), a little hole in it.
If you're very motivated you could read this. Or this for a lighter historical read though not exactly on the same subject .

Good finds. Added to my very long list of bookmarks.