The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

How many chickens do you have?

I have eight pullets, and I think they're all laying now.  Yesterday I got seven eggs!!e

I have 8. The big girls will be 2 in May & the tots will be a year this spring.

I have a question.  A guy my husband works with said he has three chickens, and a month ago when it was really cold (-15 before wind chill), they stopped laying for a couple of days.  Nothing unusual about that, but then he said the next day he came out to check and there were seven eggs in the nest boxes!  He swears they were holding them inside and then when it warmed up, pop, pop, pop (someone must have laid three in one day!).

What do you think?  Is that even possible?  I know this guy has embellished stories in the past, but before I tell my husband chickens can't do that, I wanted to know if you guys think it might be true.  I thought it might be more likely that the chickens had kept laying eggs, but hiding them under whatever he has in the nest boxes so he didn't find them until it warmed up and he looked harder.  I've never seen his setup.

I know it takes about 25 hours for one egg to go from the ovary to being fully shelled and laid, but could a hen be working on a few at the same time, so they all come out closer together?

I would have. To say it might be possible but more likely the eggs were buried in the nesting material and them all laying in one day probably uncovered the ones from the day before. I know I have to move hay around in their dip fav nest spot since they get hidden under the hay

 

[aoxa]

uh... RIIIGHT! obviously you've never had close contact with one of these 'adorable' monsters. LOL tho they do make a good stew if they're cooked right.

the last one I had contact with was every bit of 30" long including it's tail, and took a serious chunk out of the 2x4 I was using to push it off the driveway. ended up shooting it instead since he was determined to take a chunk out of my front tire too. (running it over would have ruined the meat...)

Well their tracks are adorable! They look like sunsets!

I have a question. A guy my husband works with said he has three chickens, and a month ago when it was really cold (-15 before wind chill), they stopped laying for a couple of days. Nothing unusual about that, but then he said the next day he came out to check and there were seven eggs in the nest boxes! He swears they were holding them inside and then when it warmed up, pop, pop, pop (someone must have laid three in one day!).

What do you think? Is that even possible? I know this guy has embellished stories in the past, but before I tell my husband chickens can't do that, I wanted to know if you guys think it might be true. I thought it might be more likely that the chickens had kept laying eggs, but hiding them under whatever he has in the nest boxes so he didn't find them until it warmed up and he looked harder. I've never seen his setup.

I know it takes about 25 hours for one egg to go from the ovary to being fully shelled and laid, but could a hen be working on a few at the same time, so they all come out closer together?

Nope Though I did wonder how I closed up shop checking for eggs two nights ago in my white EE pen.. no eggs. The next morning no eggs.. when I returned home from work to close up, 2 eggs. There is only a pair in that pen. One male, one female. How did that happen? It's happened twice so far! Doesn't make sense. I keep telling myself she hid it under the bedding, but I am not 100% sold on that excuse.

But 7 in one day.. doubtful.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: I agree, I think they can hold back for a short time, but not storing them up like that. it takes between 20 and 24 hours to fully 'build' an egg...

 

[aoxa]

I agree, I think they can hold back for a short time, but not storing them up like that. it takes between 20 and 24 hours to fully 'build' an egg...

She's probably mad at being penned up and is trying her hardest to hold back to punish me but just can't do it after that long

 

[lazy gardener]

I have a BSL who laid 2 rubber and a normal egg in a single 24 hour period... actually, I think it may have been 14 hours. She has on rare occasions produced 2 normal eggs in one day. One of my EE produced 2 eggs in one day this winter. With such cold weather as the guy reported, talking about 7/3 eggs... unless his coop/nest is heated, the previous day's eggs would have frozen. So, I believe it's highly unlikely, not probable, but possible.

 

[Leahs Mom]

One time I did have an early morning egg and an evening egg from the same chicken. Only once. And yes, I'm sure it was the same chicken as she was my only blue egg layer.

As I said, it only happened one time with her but it did happen. Perhaps a "glitch" in the hormone system.

 

[CourtsCacklers]

Well their tracks are adorable! They look like sunsets!

Nope Though I did wonder how I closed up shop checking for eggs two nights ago in my white EE pen.. no eggs. The next morning no eggs.. when I returned home from work to close up, 2 eggs. There is only a pair in that pen. One male, one female. How did that happen? It's happened twice so far! Doesn't make sense. I keep telling myself she hid it under the bedding, but I am not 100% sold on that excuse.

But 7 in one day.. doubtful.

I agree that 7 is doubtful... I have, on occasion, last summer gotten 7 eggs from my 6 hens. I check the bedding and everything when I check for eggs at the end of the night (I am paranoid they will break an egg and eat it and when I first started out I found one hidden in the bedding!)....this has happened probably only 2x though. While on occasion I think that there are just hens that might be prone to do this-- probably doubtful that all three of his held them in for a couple of days!

 

[ChickChickChicky]

This was a disturbing story out of Grand Island, NE about a drunk guy who got stopped with over 100 chickens crammed in his small SUV. 50 of the chickens were dead, and the Humane Society there is trying to care for the 57 left alive. They are in pitiful shape, and the Humane Society is desperate to find them a home. Watch the accompanying news clips...
http://www.omaha.com/article/20140201/NEWS/140209820/1707

 

[chicalot]

My DH has taken down 3 coyotes in the last month but they're pretty thick here. We've only lost one calf but that was this spring and one too many.. so hunting them has been bumped in priority.

Tracks yesterday

 

[hellbender]

My DH has taken down 3 coyotes in the last month but they're pretty thick here. We've only lost one calf but that was this spring and one too many.. so hunting them has been bumped in priority.

Tracks yesterday

Coyotes are bad here too...I have friends who hunt game on my property but at a cost...sort of, because they enjoy paying the 'price'...They set snares on the mid areas where my chickens, goats and dogs simply don't usually go. The snares are the kind that won't kill a dog usually because when the animal relaxes, the snare loosens enough to relieve pressure. In fact, most coyotes have to be dispatched because they relax after a while too. I wish the government would pay a bounty on them...after all, they drug hundreds of coyotes in here about 15 years ago...to help thin the the white tail deer population.

Results....more deer than ever, more coyote kills of sheep, calves and just about all other livestock.

OK...Off the soap box.