tried the cabbage dangle yesterday

[banter]

I'm going to try that with a brussel sprout after I take off the sprouts

 

[sweetcorn]

I'd think that if it's possible for a chicken to lay an egg with a worm it , and orange seed would be possible too , right ? I can see it happening

Mine hate lettuce , wont touch it , but they love cabbage or a big bunch of bok choy.

 

[ametauss]

With my brood you have to watch your fingers and toes when putting out things for them to eat....

I haven't found anything they haven't eaten yet....

Lettuce, cabbage, broc, caul, corn on cob in husk, crackers, bread, crab apples, pears.... they must be pigs in chicken suits....

I even gave them sweet potatos and rice....

If they see something strange in my hands they all start hovering.... One day I had a plastic bowl and they all wanted to "see" the new treat.... what a hoot....

 

[alyssa558]

I'm afraid I have to agree about the orange seed. The reproductive system and the digestive system are totally different. It seems like they are connected since everything comes out the vent, but the egg is formed in the chicken's oviduct, not the stomach. That's kind of like saying that if a human eats an orange seed, and is pregnant, then there is the potential for the orange seed to show up somewhere on the baby, in the uterus or in the placenta.

 

[windtryst]

I fill a suet feeder attached to the side of the pen with kale, cabbage leafs, old lettuce or whatever, and they can reach in and peck off small pieces. They like to peck away at that. It also keeps it off the dirt.

 

[curliet]

Allysa558, I understand what you're saying about the reproductive system and the digestive system. And to be honest, I do agree. This didn't make sense to me either, and that's why I asked the question here. (question what you see or hear , etc, don't automatically assume that if it's beyond your knowledge it must be untrue) Except, that I saw it firsthand.
We always crack our eggs into a clean, clear measuring cup, one at a time to check for blood spots. This time, there was the orange pip. I took it out with a spoon and looked at it closely, it was an orange pip. I asked Rick to look at it, and he said, "Hey, that's an orange seed!"
There was nothing else in the cup, I had already cracked a couple of eggs in it. If there is another explanation I'd love to hear it, if not, then I might be right. But I'm really not happy about the way that digitS' just took what I said and denied any chance that I could be right, didn't say "oh, I've never heard of that" or anything to try to explain why he thinks it couldn't happen. Just that, "It's impossible". Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't.

 

[NurseNettie]

Mine eat everything!

I've got a row of brussels sprouts that never did much-- I've been pulling 2 plants out of the ground each day ( with as much dirt around the roots as I can manage) and tossing them in the chicken run.

They go crazy for it. They eat the leaves, the tiny brussels sprouts and scratch through the fresh dirt for bugs. It's fun to watch! I've also got a few pumpkin and winter squash that won't store well- and since we grew a ton-- I've been cutting up one or two of those and tossing them in the mix too. They really enjoy it all. Got tomatoes left or ones that fell on the ground or never ripened? They love those too!

Edited to add::: I've got a couple pics from yesterday when they were enjoying their garden treats::

 

[digitS']

Regarding an orange seed: I should have thought longer before saying that I think it would be totally impossible. Perhaps, it would be less offensive to say that I think you must have been mistaken.

The shell membranes begin to form about 8 inches above the vent. They protect the egg thru the remainder of its time inside the hen's body. The egg is fully formed before it passes thru the lower part of the oviduct which has a total length of about 24 inches. The juncture of the oviduct and the hen's digestive tract is just a fraction of an inch.

Steve

 

[curliet]

I've been searching online for anything that could explain the seed in the egg. I can find nothing. so, I will have to assume that the egg might have somehow gotten the seed on it when I layed it in the egg basket, or that the seed could have been on my hand or something. the orange had been eaten 2 days before, and parts of it were fed to the chicken the day before, and everything had been wiped down and dishes washed, etc, more than once in between. But, somehow it must have happened that the seed was laying around somewhere. But, at least I searched for something, didn't just take it for granted that it had to be my way. I'm still not amused.

 

[curliet]

Sorry Steve, I really jumped to the defensive there, and shouldn't have. I too could have worded things much differently, and will take more time next time to make sure that I am not being overly sensitive. Please accept my apologies, I'm really not a ...well....you know.