20 chichens and more on the way. (interesting!)

Phelsuma · March 2009

in july of 2008, my mother orderd 21 chickens. we raised them, ending up with 2 roosters and 19 hens. now they are fully grown and some lay green eggs

:shock:. well, last night, i went to go give them thier treats, leftover bread from the night before, and ya, they where happy. two hens where in the nesting boxxes laying eggs. Bull and Shadow (our roosters) where pecking at the bread, whene bull grabs a big piece and jumps up to a hen in the nesting box, looks at her and drops the bread on perpus. then he hopped down to get anthor for himself. i wonder if chickens care about others :? last month i was sitting in the coop ealy in the morning, waching the chickens. then the coop door opened. at first i thout it was the wind but whene i got up, a huge fox leaped into the coop. it tryed to grab a owlet (a hen), but Shadow leaped at it with his sper. then bull atacked. the fox was driven away. i was left breathless. do you thing they attaked the fox for their own safety, or for others? early this morning, i went to go and get the eggs. i was early so i disided to sit and wach the hens. chicken little, (another hen) was aggresavly attacking the other chickens that where in the nesting box. she hopped in every nesting box. at first i did not know what she was doing, but then i relized that she might be looking for her egg. i put an egg in a box, and sher unf, she found it and sat down on it. she pecked me when i tryed to go near her, so i had to distract her with some scrachcorn. that worked. i did not know chickens care much about thier eggs, iv neaver had problems before. what do you think?

Kazuko · March 2009

From watching my three hens, I'd say they cared about each other. Even as 2-3 week old chicks, we had them in the backyard when our cat tried to get them, and all three went after the cat. She leaves them well alone now. Two of our three hens won't be separated now (we got them at the same time, and the third a few months later) and are the most people friendly things you'll see. xD They even crouch down when you walk up to them so you can pet them. Ours have never had egg-problems. They just stare at us whenever we collect the eggs like "._. How could you..."

JadeEP · March 2009

sounds like your hens gone broody (wants to sit and hatch them now), they have times like that sometimes when there is a rooster in with them. Once 1 hen goes broody the other hens usually do as well. if you notice that there is a patch of feathers missing underneath (near her legs where the eggs would come into contact with her) than she has definately gone broody.

Phelsuma · March 2009

with one egg? :shock: i was told they go broody when they have 3-like 10!

JadeEP · March 2009

nah they can go broody with 1 and as the others lay the eggs she'll collect them and sit on them too and protect them, you'l notice that if you put back an egg you collected say 3 days ago she'l end up sitting on that to. Thats what my chooks do when 1 decides to go broody than the other hens would start to do the same, when the eggs finally hatched it was funny sitting there and watching all the hens pinching each others chicks

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20 chichens and more on the way. (interesting!)

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