Urgent Help Needed ...

[Woody]

mea culpa mea culpa

[phkrause]

She's got you there Woody. LOL

[Woody]

yes pk. she does that frequently to me

[SivartM]

Snorkel.

[Liz]

Can chickens tell the difference between, their eggs and other types of bird eggs?

My grandpa-in-law used to get his chickens to sit on and hatch out ducks and other types of birds.

Just thinking that an egg eating chicken wouldn't be good to have around, even if it wasn't a cannibal.

[Woody]

What I wonder is ... why did the Dove eggs make the chicken sick? Do we have a vet here?

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Quote:

Causes for hens eating their eggs

The causes that incite hens to eat their eggs usually result because of poor husbandry or management practices. Chickens do not naturally eat their eggs. Once the management of the flock is restored to an acceptable state, the egg eating will stop. The list of major causes and corrections are listed below. A factsheet entitled Prevention of Egg Eating discusses the subject in more detail.

If shells of the eggs are thin and weak, provide proper diets as discussed in the nutrition section to correct the problem.

Not enough nest space is provided. Provide at least one standard nest for each four hens.

Keep plenty of soft nesting material in the nest so eggs will have a cushion on which to lay.

Collect the eggs more regularly, at least 2 or 3 times daily. The longer the eggs remain in the nest, the greater chance of breakage and consumption.

Provide plenty of clean, fresh drinking water. Hens need greater amounts of water than other birds and may consume their eggs for the liquid content.

Cull non-laying hens from the flock. Refer to Culling Hens for assistance with this process.

Maintain a disease-free flock that is treated regularly for internal and external parasites.

http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_eat_eggs.html

The eggs were probably rotten. Eating rotten eggs would make people or animals sick.

@Liz re: can chickens tell the difference between their eggs and something else? I don't think so. My grandparents had chickens and used fake glass eggs that the chickens would try to hatch along with the real eggs.

[GreatLakesGramma]

She's got you there Woody. LOL

[Neil D]

Believe me, I get plenty of practise at home. Like father, like son.

But I thought you were a grandMA...????

[Woody]

Yes Neil. I DO believe she is a granny.

[GreatLakesGramma]

Neil, one of my adult sons still lives at home with his dad and me. He's 25 and self-employed, not yet making enough from his business to support himself completely.

Regarding the like father, like son comment I made, it isn't completely true. My son does like to tease and give people a hard time like his dad, but he doesn't try to create nonsensical arguments like his dad (and Woody).

[Woody]

I feel unjustly accused .....

[Neil D]

I feel unjustly accused .....

......And yes, you SHOULD feel that way.....[smile]

[GreatLakesGramma]

I feel unjustly accused .....

You just finished admitting it.

[GreatLakesGramma]

In case you don't think the words I chose to describe it fit what you did/do, I wasn't completely satisfied with them either, but couldn't come up with anything better. Whatever you want to call it, my husband does the same thing.