The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[armorfirelady]

This is a common myth that is perpetuated here and everywhere....feeding eggs to the chickens will make them into egg eaters. This just happens to be one of my worst pet peeves...puts my teeth on edge.

If I've said it once, I've probably said it a hundred times, all chickens are egg-eaters. They are opportunistic eaters and will hoover up an egg quick as anything else when presented with a soft shelled, cracked, or damaged eggs. Certain times of the year this happens in most any flock...and this is the same time of year that you will see a plethora of posts about "egg-eaters".

God designed these chickens to keep their nests clean. This keeps predators from scenting their nests and it also keeps bacteria from the eventually rotten yolk/egg from harming the bloom of the other eggs in the nest. Birds in the wild do the same thing and will clean up any broken eggs, much like a chicken.

Generations of women in my family have been feeding eggs and egg shells back to chickens, as is, and never once had an "egg-eater". You will hear the same thing from other experienced flock keepers. The thing that makes people think that their "fake eggs" and other such deterrents left in nests have "cured" their egg-eater is because, along about the time they have placed these things and notice the results, is about the same time that the hen's reproductive hiccups have corrected themselves~as per usual, if you wait a bit~ and any anecdotal "curing" of the egg-eater is purely coincidental. No soft shells or broken eggs means no chickens with yolk on their faces. Opportunity now over.

The lady who cringed is obviously someone who hasn't spent years with chickens and believes everything she hears from others of the same ilk. This is why I started the OT thread and others like it....these myths keep making the rounds as each new group of new chicken owners enters the field and someone has to be a voice of reason in all that muck.

You are completely safe feeding eggs raw, shells uncooked, shells uncrushed or not ground fine....it's all the same to the chicken. The scraps are fine as well...pretty much anything we can eat, the chickens will and can eat. They don't usually eat potato skins or onions, though.

Great thanks so much. They will be having eggs added to their veggies this week. And I rather give them the stale cereal & such then throw it away. Hmm wonder what they will think of the mini marshmellows in them lol

 

[normanack]

God designed these chickens to keep their nests clean.  This keeps predators from scenting their nests and it also keeps bacteria from the eventually rotten yolk/egg from harming the bloom of the other eggs in the nest. 

And I sure appreciated this trait when my broody kicked a cracked near-to-hatch but dead egg out of the nest and I didn't have to clean it up.

 

[Beekissed]

Yes! If it's early on in the brooding, she will eat infertile eggs after a few days and they do not develop. Later on, if a chick dies or is not developing, she will just push that egg out of the nest. I often wonder how in the heck she got an egg completely across the brooder house....it seems like she tries to get them as far away from the nest as possible.

 

[thedragonlady]

This is a common myth that is perpetuated here and everywhere....feeding eggs to the chickens will make them into egg eaters. This just happens to be one of my worst pet peeves...puts my teeth on edge.

If I've said it once, I've probably said it a hundred times, all chickens are egg-eaters. They are opportunistic eaters and will hoover up an egg quick as anything else when presented with a soft shelled, cracked, or damaged eggs. Certain times of the year this happens in most any flock...and this is the same time of year that you will see a plethora of posts about "egg-eaters".

God designed these chickens to keep their nests clean. This keeps predators from scenting their nests and it also keeps bacteria from the eventually rotten yolk/egg from harming the bloom of the other eggs in the nest. Birds in the wild do the same thing and will clean up any broken eggs, much like a chicken.

Generations of women in my family have been feeding eggs and egg shells back to chickens, as is, and never once had an "egg-eater". You will hear the same thing from other experienced flock keepers. The thing that makes people think that their "fake eggs" and other such deterrents left in nests have "cured" their egg-eater is because, along about the time they have placed these things and notice the results, is about the same time that the hen's reproductive hiccups have corrected themselves~as per usual, if you wait a bit~ and any anecdotal "curing" of the egg-eater is purely coincidental. No soft shells or broken eggs means no chickens with yolk on their faces. Opportunity now over.

The lady who cringed is obviously someone who hasn't spent years with chickens and believes everything she hears from others of the same ilk. This is why I started the OT thread and others like it....these myths keep making the rounds as each new group of new chicken owners enters the field and someone has to be a voice of reason in all that muck.

You are completely safe feeding eggs raw, shells uncooked, shells uncrushed or not ground fine....it's all the same to the chicken. The scraps are fine as well...pretty much anything we can eat, the chickens will and can eat. They don't usually eat potato skins or onions, though.

Along this line I have a funny for you, Bee.

About 30 years ago when I was showing my SLW LF, I used to bake cornbread for them to take to the shows. This was special cornbread, with some fat added, as well as a few dozenof their eggs, including the shells, in huge pans. My baby child, who weighed in at 11 lbs when he hatched, was then at the age when he would eat anyting that didn't eat him first. When he came home fron school, he smelled the cornbread, and helped himself to half of a huge panful.I came in a few minutes later to find him munching. "Gee, Mom that was great cornbread, but it was a bit crunchy". He's now 6'4", a great dad to 2 girls, and I've never had another egg eater!

 

[Beekissed]

That sounds like my biggest chick! He was 10 lbs even and was using a regular sized spoon as a baby. We often tease him and hold up a serving spoon and tell him we "found" his baby spoon in the drawer.

Hey, that was probably very nutritious cornbread!!

 

[loanwizard]

Some of y'all must not have ever met Bruce...er....bruce....in person. He does indeed have the physical traits that might be enhanced by an over the shoulder boulder holder. Now he ain't no EE, but probably a solid C. Personally, walking around as a "free boober", I think he looks like a hussy.... just sayin'.

 

[off-grid hen]

Heheheh.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Along this line I have a funny for you, Bee.

About 30 years ago when I was showing my SLW LF, I used to bake cornbread for them to take to the shows. This was special cornbread, with some fat added, as well as a few dozenof their eggs, including the shells, in huge pans. My baby child, who weighed in at 11 lbs when he hatched, was then at the age when he would eat anyting that didn't eat him first. When he came home fron school, he smelled the cornbread, and helped himself to half of a huge panful.I came in a few minutes later to find him munching. "Gee, Mom that was great cornbread, but it was a bit crunchy". He's now 6'4", a great dad to 2 girls, and I've never had another egg eater!

LOL! Must have something to do with being a large baby as my husband - who weighed 10 lbs. at birth - did something similar.

I made "dog cookies" for my pups that included ingredients such as bacon grease, garlic, and cornmeal. I had them cooling on cookie racks when I heard hubby come in the door from work. He got to the cookies before I could get to him and was chewing away when I got to the kitchen. His remark was "pretty good . . . but a little dry. I could use some milk."

The kids and I had a good laugh at hubby's expense, for sure, and it's been a favorite story ever since. Looks like those "big babies" never outgrow those eat-everything-in-sight habits!

 

[Missa Chickabee]

This thread is a breath-holder to see what coming next. As I wait with bated breath I am picturing bruce staring intensely through and past his computer seeking the come-back of the century. I don't know you, bruce, but I know you can do it!

 

[off-grid hen]

Speaking of thin shells and egg eating, I have a question. Starting a few weeks ago, I suddenly had no-shell and soft-shelled eggs. Their diet hadnt changed, but I switched feeds to a higher protein layer ration. I also have sprinkled oyster shell on the ground in addition to their already free choice. I also grind up the egg shells (what I use myself-the rest are sold and don't come back) and mix with table scraps.

I have a few pullets new to laying, so I attributed the no shells to them. But then I noticed the thin and soft shelled(membrane only) eggs. This also happened in march. Is this the "time of year" when I'm starting to get these eggs because of the molt? Or is there something else going on?

Since I changed the ration and started sprinkling oyster shell on the ground, the no-shells have disappeared, but I still have one laying a thin shell. Will it take a while to get them situated again? I don't want to hijack this thread, so if you want me to edit this and copy/paste to the old timer thread I can do that.