Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Mother of Chaos]

Tax: a fully-shelled egg!

View attachment 4133388

More tax: normal egg #2 today, two days after the first, and this time in the nesting box!

I suspect that this is because when she laid, I was in surgery getting my new right knee instead of compulsively peeking every 20 minutes to see what was happening. Lesson learned! Probably! I might need to get a coop camera in order to play voyeur.

I promise to end the egg updates, at least for Lil.

 

[Perris]

Found it

They all look like Janeka's. Given that she is 6, how long do you suppose it has taken her to lay this 15, and how likely are the oldest to hatch? How many might be fertile?

When hens choose to make a secret nest rather than lay in the coop, do they plan to brood? I know Shad has long maintained this, but I've not seen or read any arguments or evidence for it.

If the answer to the planning question is 'yes', do they know when to stop laying and start sitting? Which amounts to, do they know when the oldest eggs are reaching borderline viability? I think they can and do expel from the nest any egg they think is dodgy, which implies that they also have some sense that there's nothing wrong with an egg too, though being old or infertile doesn't obviously give out signals like a rotten egg would.

A propos which, I found a nest of Janeka's a year or two back that she abandoned after one egg broke (apparently a defective shell) and contaminated some but not all the others. Evidently she decided it was not worth carrying on in that case.

I think I am sufficiently interested in these questions to let her carry on, and watch what happens, and then deal with the consequences, if there are any, when they arise.

I really do not expect to see another 15 chicks in due course, and it'll be a forced sale if it happens. Though imagine how much inbuilt immunity a chick of a 6 year old would have!

 

[BDutch]

They all look like Janeka's. Given that she is 6, how long do you suppose it has taken her to lay this 15, and how likely are the oldest to hatch? How many might be fertile?

When hens choose to make a secret nest rather than lay in the coop, do they plan to brood?

Fertilized eggs are known to be good as hatchery eggs for 14 days if kept right. (^^ From reading on different platforms)
From 14 days old the chances of good outcomes get smaller. If the temp and humidity was right you can probably add another week or so, but I cant find info to confirm this.

It seems Janeca has good broody instincts, and she might surprise you with a lot of chicks within 3 weeks time.
I have been reading a few times about a broody who disappeared and came back after 3 weeks later with 10 - 12 chicks.

If you want to know and don’t like to wait so long, you could pay her a visit in the dark, 6-7 days after disappearing, with a good candling torch. Take out some eggs from under her (one by one). Candle and mark the eggs that are alive with a circle ️ the ones that you have severe doubts about with a question mark . The infertile with cross . Maybe take away a few eggs that are not alive to give the others a better chance.
Stop if she gets restless. You can do this again a day later.

Typo corrections

 

[lightm]

Found it
View attachment 4135444
They all look like Janeka's. Given that she is 6, how long do you suppose it has taken her to lay this 15, and how likely are the oldest to hatch? How many might be fertile?

When hens choose to make a secret nest rather than lay in the coop, do they plan to brood? I know Shad has long maintained this, but I've not seen or read any arguments or evidence for it.

If the answer to the planning question is 'yes', do they know when to stop laying and start sitting? Which amounts to, do they know when the oldest eggs are reaching borderline viability? I think they can and do expel from the nest any egg they think is dodgy, which implies that they also have some sense that there's nothing wrong with an egg too, though being old or infertile doesn't obviously give out signals like a rotten egg would.

A propos which, I found a nest of Janeka's a year or two back that she abandoned after one egg broke (apparently a defective shell) and contaminated some but not all the others. Evidently she decided it was not worth carrying on in that case.

I think I am sufficiently interested in these questions to let her carry on, and watch what happens, and then deal with the consequences, if there are any, when they arise.

I really do not expect to see another 15 chicks in due course, and it'll be a forced sale if it happens. Though imagine how much inbuilt immunity a chick of a 6 year old would have!

 

[fluffycrow]

Fertilized eggs are known to be good as hatchery eggs for 14 days if kept right. (^^ From reading on different platforms)
From 14 days old the chances of good outcomes get smaller. If the temp and humidity was right you can probably add another week or so, but I cant find info to confirm this.

It seems Janeca has good broody instincts, and she might surprise you with a lot of chicks within 3 weeks time.
I have been reading a few times about a broody who disappeared and came back after 3 weeks later with 10 - 12 chicks.

I you want to know and don’t to wait so long, you could pay her a visit in the dark, 6-7 days after disappearing, with a good candling torch. Take out some eggs from under her (one by one). Candle and mark the eggs that are alive with a circle ️ the ones that you have severe doubts about with a question mark . The infertile with cross . Maybe take away a few eggs that are not alive to give the others a better chance.
Stop if she gets restless. You can do this again a day later.

The cutoff point I was given when I was inquiring for my first (artificial) serama hatch was 10 days. Supposedly, fertility drops drastically after that.

When Cruella hatched her second brood in her secret nest, 14 out of 15 eggs hatched. Even if she were a daily layer (which I know she isn’t), that would exceed the 10 day rule, coming closer to yours.

As you have theorised, I too believe that under the right conditions, fertility won’t drop much for a longer period. I also believe that the hens and pullets make their nests in such areas, or in such a way to use the above to their advantage. If Cruella, who was still a pullet when she started the nesting process, was able to have a successful hatch, I have no doubt that the very experienced Janeka won’t have much of a problem. Combined with the excellent diet they get, I don’t see a reason why all the 15 (or more) eggs wouldn’t hatch

 

[BDutch]

I also believe that the hens and pullets make their nests in such areas, or in such a way to use the above to their advantage.

I have been reading on the Dutch chicken forum that if you want to keep eggs apart to use or sell as hatchery eggs, the best way to keep them, is not a cardboard egg box but in a bowl or a tray filled with sand/soil. More like a natural nest.

Sounds obvious. Why didn’t I know this earlier?

Other advices to keep eggs as hatchery eggs: Cellars are often good to keep the eggs. A bit cool. Not freezing. Not wet, not very dry. Point down in an angle or sideways, turn 2 x a day.

 

[Perris]

If you want to know and don’t like to wait so long

I have a candling torch (bought with a lot of other stuff in that initial rush, when one feels compelled to acquire all sorts of chicken-keeping kit that now sits at the back of a drawer, like Michael Macintyre's 5 spice) but also I can and will wait. I do not know when she started, which queers the pitch somewhat; at least 3 days ago, possibly a week or more.

Knowing (or rather, thinking one knows) which eggs are developing at this stage is highly unlikely to improve the outcome (since explosively bad eggs are so rare), while obtaining said knowledge might easily harm one or more good ones. Patience is better, I think.

Combined with the excellent diet they get, I don’t see a reason why all the 15 (or more) eggs wouldn’t hatch

Good grief I hope not! (Though I do appreciate your vote of confidence in Janeka and my homemade feed ) It would be bedlam here!

 

[fluffycrow]

(or rather, thinking one knows)

Socrates ?

Good grief I hope not! (Though I do appreciate your vote of confidence in Janeka and my homemade feed ) It would be bedlam here!

Hopefully I’m wrong, then! We’ll know soon enough. Maybe 10 chicks would be more manageable.

 

[BDutch]

back of a drawer, like Michael Macintyre's 5 spice)

Maybe 10 chicks would be more manageable.

Fingers crossed for 10

 

[RoyalChick]

sits at the back of a drawer, like Michael Macintyre's 5 spice

I had to look that up. He is funny!