The tiny serama; a Hatching adventure

[fluffycrow]

It's less the pores opening or closing and more that the temperature causes the inner membranes to shrink or relax. Cold water causes them to shrink slightly, drawing dirt and bacteria through the pores of the shell, while warm water causes them to relax, pushing things out instead. So definitely don't follow up with cold water as if anything remains on the shell you'd be drawing it into the egg in doing so!

Interesting! OK then, warm water it is!

 

[fluffycrow]

My thought is that Broody’s hatch eggs and don’t care if they’re clean or not

That is a good point. Broodies are just so cool!

 

[fluffycrow]

I've seen a few of mine hang out in the nesting boxes for a long time, get up, go out in the run, lay their egg and turn around and eat it flock party egg buffet, it used to make me so angry now I'm getting so many eggs I'm like, well, one less to have to find a home for...

I'm no stranger to egg eaters. My free ranging group eat any eggs that break, for one reason or another. I'm totally OK with that, rather than the egg going to waste, they get some nutrients out of them

 

[BDutch]

I've seen a few of mine hang out in the nesting boxes for a long time, get up, go out in the run, lay their egg and turn around and eat it flock party egg buffet, it used to make me so angry

I never had this problem with normal eggs. Only the occasional eggs without a shell have been eaten.

I have been reading that if you substitute the real eggs with (stone) fake eggs and gather the good ones as often as possible it can help.

If the shells are thin and easy to break you should add calcium to their diet. Oyster shell on the side, or give the egg shells back. To give it a boost it seems you can add crushed calcium tablets for humans too (do a search for more info).

 

[2ndTink]

Once they get started on the taste for eggs, it's so hard to make them forget.

The curtains on the nesting boxes help, but still some days I have a ton or eggs, other days there are one or two and just goo piles in the hay it's so nasty.

 

[2ndTink]

Hmmmm… I wonder what their thought process is behind that. Perhaps, that instinct to lay the egg out in the open as their ancestors would’ve done. But, the “flock party egg buffet”? I guess they’re trying to let you know you’re going a bit light on the special treats?

I guess I can be proud I raised chickens who share?

 

[2ndTink]

I never had this problem with normal eggs. Only the occasional eggs without a shell have been eaten.

I have been reading that if you substitute the real eggs with (stone) fake eggs and gather the good ones as often as possible it can help.

If the shells are thin and easy to break you should add calcium to their diet. Oyster shell on the side, or give the egg shells back. To give it a boost it seems you can add crushed calcium tablets for humans too (do a search for more info).

No issues on the shells, I've tried the fake eggs, they kick them out of the nesting boxes and continue to chow down. It's my fault, I had metal garbage bins for feed in their coop at the start, I didn't know they had started laying, turns out they were laying on top of the bins and the eggs would roll off and smash on the floor I don't know how many days / weeks this was happening before I saw a wet spot on the floor then figured out what was happening and removed the bins. They were well conditioned by then to eat the eggs so it's been an ongoing 3 year battle, this is season #4 for them. I can't add more chickens in with them, so they are living out their days as a little closed flock so they don't pass on their bad habits

 

[fluffycrow]

My chickens were also not fooled by the fake eggs (my ISA browns from a few years ago, when my Tsouloufates were juveniles would actually BREAK the fake eggs). I think that no chicken is fooled by fake eggs, some simply choose to tolerate them

 

[fluffycrow]

Happy Independence Day from Greece!

Today is also the last day of not collecting eggs! I'm 11 days away from setting eggs, yall!

Yesterday I cleaned some incubator stuff, I left it out to air dry, and it got blow all over the place

 

[2ndTink]

Whoohoo! Come on little seramas, make sure you lay extra perfect eggs for Fluffy we are all excited to see your chickies!!!!!!!