Devonviolet Acres

[CntryBoy777]

@HomeOnTheRange chickens will eat meat cooked or raw, even chicken. If they find a mouse nest they will devour the babies in the nest. I don't think there is very much that a chicken will not eat.....

 

[HomeOnTheRange]

Thanks, I guess I can expand my chickens diet!

 

[Bruce]

They will eat frogs too. And they don't cook them first. Neither do they cook the flying and ground dwelling "animals" they eat But to answer your question, I don't feed them meat for the sake of feeding them meat, just what may be left on the plate, which means fat and gristle, therefore cooked. And yes on the rare occasion I get to eat chicken (usually lunch from the Farmer's Market on Saturday if I don't get one of the other tasty things from the Bosnian lady) they get the bones to pick just as they do if we have meat with bones for dinner.

I don't think there is very much that a chicken will not eat.....

They don't eat stinging nettle or burdock. Neither do the alpacas. I need some less picky animals!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Not only do my chickens eat meat - they drink milk too!

 

[Latestarter]

I always gave my birds the turkey carcass after we humans were done with it. They'd attack it like a bunch of mini raptors. no muss, no fuss.

 

[Devonviolet]

Last week we checked the one duck egg, that was left under our broody turkey, Edith. It turned out to be bad. It was dark & cracked. So, DH dug a hole in the compost pile & threw it in. BAM, it exploded & stunk!

Edith had sat through two 5 week unsuccessful broods on duck eggs. I felt like she needed to get outside and get some fresh air & exercise. So, after taking the last egg away, we made her leave the empty nest, every morning. We locked her out of the coop so she would join the flock during the day.

However, every morning, she would zero in on a duck egg in one of the duck's nests. Before we could get her out of the coop, she would run over & sit on the egg. It seems that our sweet Edith is bound & determined to hatch & brood some eggs.

So, this morning, we took 7 duck eggs, from the refrigerator plus the 2 duck eggs, in the coop this morning, and put them in a nest with Edith in one of the stalls, in the barn. That way, the snake can't get her eggs.

It was so cute when I put the eggs in the nest. I wish I had my phone with me, so I could take photos. At first she ignored me, as I started putting eggs in the nest. Then she realized I had eggs in the nest & she got closer, and watched intently. As I finished & backed away, she started getting on the nest & moving eggs around with her beak. It took a while, but eventually she settled in on the eggs & looked SO happy. I REALLY hope, for her sake, that she gets to brood these eggs successfully.

In case anyone questions why I put refrigerated eggs under Edith, I found the following thread on BYC:

www.backyardchickens.com/threads/does-putting-eggs-in-the-fridge-cancel-out-their-fertility.98453/page-1

So, I thought I would give it a try. I did mark the 2 egg laid today with "*", to see if those hatch better than the refrigerator eggs. I may put any eggs, laid later today or tomorrow morning, under Edith, as well.

Wouldn't it be fun if all the eggs hatch???

 

[CntryBoy777]

I sure always thought that refridgerated eggs weren't viable, not that it made them infertile, but that they cold canceled the ability for them to develope. It will surely be interesting to keep up with your developments there....Go Edith!!
Our khaki hens are still setting on eggs with no hatchings as of yet....giving them another week...since the grandsons are coming, just incase they do hatch something....

 

[Devonviolet]

Before, I just kept the start date in the back of my mind, but as time went by I couldn't remember what day it was. This time I put a calendar reminder for day 28 and day 35, so I won't be wondering if it is really time.

 

[CntryBoy777]

It was easy with ours, they started setting on June 1st, but continued rounding up the eggs in the pen for several weeks. They continued to move the nest during that time and adding eggs to the mound. They have been in the same spot for a couple of wks now and have stopped adding eggs to it, so just observing their behavior....since we've never had them before. I'm just an interested Observer....

 

[Devonviolet]

So, CntryBoy . . . you bring up a question that I have had. If they go a week or more before actually sitting on the nest, and/or there is a period of a week or more from the first & last egg being laid, will mom continue to sit on the eggs until they all hatch?

Our hen that sat on the duck eggs started getting out of the nest box when the ducklings started getting out of the box - and there were still eggs in the nest box.