Hi, This is my first post on this forum...so Hi everyone from Sydney, Australia! I have four ISA BROWN hens, and they have been laying now for a month...well most of them there appears to be one slacker! We normally get three eggs a day atm, but every now and then we get a big dinosaur egg and one other regular egg. This has happened twice now. The big eggs are 85g and yeaterday the egg was 86grams. The first time we had a big egg we all crossed our legs and thought "ouch!"........ but thought it was a one off. However the egg yesterday was even bigger and even had blood on it.....which is making me really concerned. Our regular size eggs are 67-69grams. Can anyone tell me how or if the size of eggs is influenced by things like diet? ( they have been breaking into my worm farm and feasting, and I thought perhaps the high protien could increase the egg size?) Are free range eggs normally bigger? And should I be worried about the blood on the egg, and be getting treatment for my chook if there is blood on an egg of this size?
Hi, Egg You might want to post a thread in egglaying, you'll probably get more advice. This section of the forum is where us nutters who go off-topic way too much hang out In response to the question about the eggs... those big ones might be double yolkers. Have you cracked them open yet? I was excited as heck when we got our first double yolker. Otherwise... my hens seem to lay bigger, better eggs when they're out free-ranging. We can't always let them out of their enclosure because they'll poo all over the patio area, which is a pain to clean up, but when we have time to keep an eye on the lil' buggers, they can come out to eat bugs, and grass, and have a bit of a run around under the fruit trees... and the eggs get bigger. I have no idea about the blood, and like I said you'll probably get a bigger response in the other forum sections. Anyway, good to have you on board We could be neighbours for all we know...
Ta whiteflare, I reposted in the egglaying section....thanks, I hope I get some more advice there. Yes, there is heaps of mess on our paved areas, and they dig all the garden onto the paved area too, but i dont have a bug problem in the hibicus anymore! and the soil seems in better condition. They even sneek into the house some days, and sit around the TV ..but that is only if they sneek in. The paved area is never perfectly clean these days, and I always have to dodge the chook landmines on the way back home... but a pet dog would dig and poop everywhere anyway, and they wouldnt make me breakfast like the chooks do, so I let them get away with a bit. I also have 2 cats, and I was concerned they wouldnt get on at first. I was suprised that the cats stay clear of the hens, and if they even sun bake in the yard the chooks tell them to move on. anyways thanks for your reply....and nice to meet you, talk soon
No problem! I always reply to any threads I can. I have been on the receiving end of having one of my masterpieces of a post ignored... I try not to reciprocate the favour wherever I can Yeah, it's awesome watching them pick away at the insects. Especially when I get a spade and turn the soil over, they snap at the worms like they're cans of money You're lucky enough to get the birds inside the house?! Wow, I envy you. I'd love to see them sitting on the couch watching TV! Our chooks, however, are absolutely terrified of going anywhere near any door, or the gate to the driveway and out of our property. The big wusses! There are so many feral cats belonging to neighbours around here. Always prowling through everyone's gardens. The chickens scare the living daylights out of the felines though, and they usually run away yowling as soon as a chicken makes to start walking towards them Nice to meet you too!
