Quite Simply, Chook Chat

[elizajay]

Victoria Plum, Japanese bantam did her usual on Friday night, disappeared and could not be found anywhere. We have had birds of prey about and she is tiny so I feared the worst and thought she might have been taken but hoped she was sitting on a nest somewhere. Looked everywhere I could think of including the disused old coop where I currently keep my bedding.
Saturday no sign of her anywhere until I lifted the bedding when cleaning the coop. Underneath the bag was VP sitting on 10 infertile eggs.
We hardly ever get eggs from her these days. She knows I take them if she lays in the nest box so she finds a new place to lay each time her nest is found. At least I knew she was safe in the old coop, so I would have liked to keep her in there.
With a heavy heart I removed her 10 infertile eggs this morning. I would love to have to have given her some fertile Japanese bantam eggs to hatch, but don't want the boys and with birds of prey am getting bigger chickens who won't be so vulnerable.
What should I do with her eggs? Can they be eaten after being sat on for 3 days?

[RichmondHens]

Hatched three more turkey poults under one of the Buff Orps]. Candled the 10 in the incy yesterday and 9 look positive, one not sure. Another 5 have gone under a friend's Orp. Tina is still laying so I'm still collecting, now trying to work out if I have anyone else worth setting them under. The three 7 week olds are growing fast. Don't think we're going to run out of turkey this Christmas!!

[jessmorris]

Thankyou G4!

[petal]

Elizajay- chuck eggs, no point in taking risks?
RH: our 10 week old poults are enormous- particularly one- which is so going to be xmas dinner. Just hatched 8 - 2 day olds but going to sell them on- just seemed a waste to not hatch them!

[BarleySugar]

Lovely sunny day, at the moment. Son no2 and I have cleaned out the coop completely. Washing down the roof and lids on the nest boxes was easy with no hosepipe ban. He took them off and I scrubbed them on the drive, near the main drain. I'm so glad we got plastic. The 'not so new' girls, Dawn and Dusk, have settled down and even ventured out into the garden, but have toddled off back to the run now we have finished. I felt a bit mean, because some of the older ones were waiting to lay, and we were delaying them a bit. I'm down to 5 eggs a day at the moment, Calypso, the bluebelle doesn't seem to be laying, I wondered if the addition of the new ones has put her off, but Yuki, my hybrid that went broody is fine now and laying again.

[petal]

if I could afford it we would have plastic houses too. its officially too hot to sit in sun so come in to cool down. Chickens are all dust bathing and stretching out in sun. ducks are sulking as their lovely rainy weather has gone.

[jessmorris]

You lucky devil Petal! We've had a day of mizzle again...and my two new girlies aren't in lay - boo!

[petal]

The world is back to normal again. lovely weather in the south and awful up north.

[RichmondHens]

Hope we've all enjoyed good weather this week, however it's about to change, so they say. I've still got 10 foot high grass and no-one to cut it. Chooks are slowly moving into the moult, several are going off lay and there seem to be a lot of feathers about. Supposed to have turkeys hatching today, but out of 10 eggs only two now look like they are going to do anything (can hear cheeping inside but none pipped as yet). The Houdini bantam meanwhile is happily (as I type, checked her a little while ago) hatching her clutch in a big patch of long grass and nettles so will move her in the morning to a coop once they have all made it into the world. Anyone for a cross breed bantam chick? Had lovely time with my geese this afternoon, sat down in their field and got lots of lovely nibbles, they are very affectionate. Getting three more goslings in a week, I am becoming addicted to geese!

[petal]

yes, I prefer the idea of geese to turkeys. Turkeys are so stoooopid. Sad to hear the grotty weather is on its way back to us.

[frias]

Dahlia my new Rhode rock laid her first egg today. Has only spent 3 nights in the big coop with the older ladies so I thought she was very clever to find the nest box. Daisy the Amber link also 19 weeks old shows no signs of stooping yet so I think it will be some time before her first egg.

[petal]

wish my lot would lay some eggs! they have gone on strike!

[frias]

Dare I say that Daisy laid her first egg today. It was a surprise as she hasn't stooped at all. Although she is an Amber link and supposed to lay brown eggs she is completely white so wasn't sure if the egg would be brown or not. It is though.

[Glutton4...]

Well, this evening, I went out, with the intention of cutting part of the lawn, but popped in to collect eggs from the Chooks, first. Brought the eggs in, and started scratching. Chuffing mites! So, none of the lawn got cut, but the Chook house got a seriously serious dousing of very strong Smite. Everywhere. Now I know why my egg numbers have dropped in the last week.

Nasty tickly little vampires.

DEAD!

Mwahahaha

[petal]

yep- had a sudden outbreak in buff orpington house- so son has creocoted it and I have put some spray on birds too- it was amazing- handfuls of the things when there was none a week ago. Had to rush in a get a shower after. No wonder they had stopped laying this week!