Comments on: Increased Daylight Signals Chickens To Lay

By: Bonnie Manion

Bonnie Manion — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:00:13 +0000

June, all flocks have a pecking order. Somehow your hens perceive your cochin to be weak. It is difficult to say how to correct. Are your hens stressed with temperature, spacing? Sometimes that sets off aggression. Sometimes time itself just works it out, sometimes you might have to separate your hen from the others or she will be pecked to injury or death. If it was summer, I would say spray your hens with water to stop them, but not in winter.

I wouldn’t give my hens their eggshells back to them. To me, that is encouraging them to peck their eggs, and you don’t want that. I put my eggshells in my compost. If you are feeding your hens an overall chicken laying mash, they should have oyster shell listed as one of the ingredients. Stay warm….VintageGardenGal

By: June

June — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:21:57 +0000

Hi there. Still cold here in Alaska, but we had a warm spot wherein the chickens definitely laid more eggs than they have been. The weather turned cold again and they dropped egg production by less than half. I decided to raise the temperature in the coop by a mere 2 degrees and they upped production again!
My question for you is, I have one hen, possibl a cochin – barred female (she has stripes like a zebra) that was getting ganged up on today. I just happened to be in the coop at the time and pushed the others off her, but they just kept coming at her. I finally lifted her into a nesting box and they seemed content to let her stay there unmolested.
What might be the reason for “ganging up” on one particular chicken? And, would there be a way to stop the behavior, as I cannot be there all the time to protect her.
Also, I’ve been giving my compost scraps to the hens, along with egg shells. I’ve been given opposing advice; 1. to grind up the shells before giving them to the hens, so they don’t become cannibals and 2. it really doesn’t make any difference, they won’t eat their own eggs. Well, I’ve been following #2 and have, to date, found evidence of two eggs that have been eaten in the coop. Should I assume by this, that I should have and should, from now on, follow #1? Thank you for your reply. Sincerely, June in AK

By: Bonnie Manion

Bonnie Manion — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:19:03 +0000

Susan, my information on nesting boxes and roosting bars are suggestions, and what is typical. Like your hens, there are hens that don’t like to follow the norm, and that is quite alright. It sounds like Della is your alpha hen, and top of the pecking order in your flock. Chickens are full of personality, aren’t they. I’m glad you are enjoying your chickens.

We are about half way through our remodel, with quite a bit of rain lately. Things are going well. Thanks for your great comment….VintageGardenGal

By: Susan (mother nature)@Bears Bend

Susan (mother nature)@Bears Bend — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:21:38 +0000

Hi Bonnie, We now have four of our seven hens laying. They are really funny. Our Delaware lays in one of two laying boxes, but will not let any other hen lay in it. The second hen an Orpington, has figured a way to dig through the hay and shavings and she squeezes herself under one of the laying houses and lays there. We placed a bushell basket in the coop to see if anyone would like that and sure enough the Jersey Giant and one Wyandotte are sharing this laying box. Maybe the last three hens will use the second laying box. They all seem to have their own preferences and they don’t seem to follow the “rules”. We especially get a kick out of Della shooing out the other hens from “her” box. She also sleeps in there and we cannot get her to roost with the others sometimes she lets the two Orpingtons sleep in her box with her, but she will not let them lay in there. She seems to be the Queen of the coop, she is nice but firm with the other girls. We just have to clean her laying box well to keep her eggs clean. Any suggestions for us about our crazy, beautiful and fully entrancing “Sisters of the traveling Chicks?”
How is your construction going? I hope all of your ideas are beginning to take shape and form and you are really pleased.

By: Bonnie Manion

Bonnie Manion — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:21:10 +0000

Ashlee, under categories on my home page, http://www.vintagegardengal.com, look for the chicken category. I actually wrote a post on Chickens and Children, and many more chicken-related topics. I got my Maran hens from a breeder when they were over a year old. Consequently, they were not treated like pets, and are uncomfortable being held, etc. Maran hens are quite large, and when I introduced them into my existing flock, they were very aggressive towards my other hens.

It is easier to imprint and bond with your chickens, the younger you get them. I recommend you start with young hens all about the same age. Sometimes when you mix young and mature hens together it is not a good recipe. Sometimes it is just fine.
Welcome to the world of chickens…..VintageGardenGal

By: Ashlee

Ashlee — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:08:49 +0000

Thanks so much for your wonderful posts on chickens. My husband just finished our chicken coop, so we are about to get some chickens. Do you find that the Marans is a good breed for children? I have heard that they can be aggressive. Do you recommend that we start with young hens or can we mix a couple of young with a couple of mature ones?

By: Bonnie Manion

Bonnie Manion — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:33:17 +0000

June, welcome to the world of chickens! I suggest you look on some of the websites I list for chickens on my left side bar–home page, Diggin’ These Links. You can look for some of the breeds you have. Thanks for your great comment…VintageGardenGal

By: June Strothenke

June Strothenke — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:46:50 +0000

We are geting our first laying hens tomorrow. A family decided to stop farming and we are the lucky recipients. I’m doing some crash training in taking care of layers and gleaned some good info from your site. I need to be able to identify the types of hens we’ll have, determine who is laying and who is not, well, I need to learn just about everything. Wish me luck. June in Alaska

By: Bonnie Manion

Bonnie Manion — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:05:43 +0000

Susan, every hen’s egg receives a protective film around it, when it is freshly laid. You usually cannot detect it unless you actually watch Della lay her egg, and then touch the egg. It is slightly moist to the touch, and dries very quickly. It is mother nature’s way of protecting an egg. That is why, to best keep your eggs fresh from your backyard flock, do not wash your eggs (unless they are so dirty from manure or something) before refrigerating. If you wash your freshly laid eggs, you wash off their natural protection coat that keeps them fresh. Thanks for your great comment….VintageGardenGal

By: Susan (mother nature)@Bears Bend

Susan (mother nature)@Bears Bend — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:06:44 +0000

Hi Bonnie, A friend of mine was asking me about the “bloom” on Della’s eggs. Her eggs are clean and do not have any film or anything on them. Is this good or bad?