Ex bat egg question

[Birker2020]

Hi folks. We got four lovely ex bats hens last Saturday and so far have had three eggs every day with the exception of Sunday when we had two. Obviously one isnt laying, which we think is the bully of the group, she is the one who started strutting around the pen like she owned the place when we first released her, full of confidence, so I knew she'd be trouble!! The others are a bit frightened of her.

She has less feathers than any of the others (who to be fair appart from their necks are very well looking for ex bats). Presumably she used to fight a lot with her other two friends in the cage (they were from a farm that had 3 to a cage rather than the usual six).

We are totally gobsmacked that we should have any eggs being laid at the moment, we thought they'd be stressed out too much to lay! Anyway all of a sudden one of Wednesday's eggs (which is white) suddenly became much smaller than the others. Does anyone know why this is? Also all four hens are Rhode island Reds (purebred not hybrids apparently) - how come some hens lay brown eggs and some lay white eggs? I know if hens have white ear lobes they are meant to produce white eggs, but our hens dont have these ear lobes!!

The quality of the shell is fine, although they seem difficult to peel. Finally, if you feed the hens slugs and worms as the odd treat does this have any effect on the taste of the eggs? I plan to sell surplus eggs to friends to pay for feed for the hens but am I allowed to actually feed them a 'meat' type of treat knowingly and is this dangerous/illegal at all as its going into the food chain? They absolutely LOVE the worms and go crazy for them like a shoal of pyriannahs!!

Sorry so many questions, but we are loving our girls, I can't wait to see them of an evening after work.

Sorry for long post, better to explain as much as possible (also I am a touch typist so it comes spilling out of my fingers!) x

 

[legaldancer]

I expect the bully hen will lay eventually, although I suppose if she's old she may not. I was once given a second hand(if that makes sense) battery hen & she never layed in the 3 years I had her.

I think your eggs are difficult to peel because they're so fresh. Week old eggs will be easier.

I would let them have the worms & insects as they would find these for themselves if they were free range. Ours love woodlice, flies. spiders etc etc. I'm sure they make the eggs taste good.

 

[Birker2020]

Yes you may well be right and she will lay eventually. The whole idea of having these ex bats was to give them a taste of freedom, any eggs were a bonus so I don't really mind if ones not laying, its just a shame if that one is stressed out. If they only live a couple of months at least they have had a chance of life. I didn't realise about the fresh eggs = hard to peel, there is so little I don't know about hens, its really frightening. We have read books, and talked to people that have them, but it is still daunting when you know so little. Its nice though as me and my other half can learn together, he spends ages pulling them up worms, or cutting them up vegtables and talking to them, he is a real softy really. I can't blame the bully for beign a bully to be honest. She probably is not a very confident hen, just pretends to be and with her previous food source at the battery farm being very plain and boring, she is probably fiercely guarding whatever she can lay her feet on of these new and exciting feed items. Shame, I think they will settle down eventually. Hopefully she will find and eat all the spiders, eeurgh horrid insects!!

Thanks for your help legal dancer. x

 

[Lollii]

Our chucks go mad (and I mean mad!) for left over cooked spaghetti!
They think they are worms ... they love it/them!

If I lift an old stone or piece of wood from the ground they are straight in to pick up all the beasties that are underneath, that is their only 'meat' supplement.

We also get some white & some brown eggs, and some with speckles on them and very occasionally get a small egg, once we got a tiny one, I opened it and it was all white (no yolk) very strange!

Good luck with your girls.

 

[karenjj]

We got 3 ex-batts about 2 months ago now, you'll be amazed at the difference in them! All mine lay an egg a day each but were a bit hit and miss to start with, one took about 2 weeks to lay her first egg but once she got going she wouldn't stop! They eat all sorts of worms and insects in the garden, it's so nice to watch them enjoying themselves! Mine have now grown most of their feathers back except one (Hazel) who has a red bum still!! We have never had hens before either, my other half loves them! Walks around with one under his arm all the time it seems!! Ours started off with a bully one but they do settle down, they are just getting their "pecking order" sorted then they all love each other!! Good luck, you're in for lots of fun!

 

[HayleyandBob]

Ours also love spaghetti! We sometimes give them some if they are lookign a bit down (like when moulting sorta thing)
Iv heard that if you have all hens it isnt unheard of for one of the hens to become the dominant one and take over the role of cockeral in the coop, this hen would stop laying and act like a cockeral :S but as you havnt had them long it could be just them sorting out the peckign order

Our are a menace if we are doign some kind of gardening/digging up lol they swarm around eatign anythign that moves!

Have they got names yet?

 

[Jericho]

I expect your top hen will lay eventually - some just dont... she is probably older than the rest. We had six ex bats in amongst our other ones and their eggs come out in all shapes and sizes, one lays soft shelled eggs persistently, and very irregularly. Our 'normal' chucks lay one a day without fail. Depends on the breed as to what colour eggs they lay - some breeds will lay blue or very dark brown (these dont appeal to the public quite so much!)

Never heard the ear lobe thing!

Fresh eggs are harder to peel - use the fresh ones for fried and poaching and cooking and older ones to boil.

We feed our chickens a lot of things but they also free range as well. They love worms, slugs, earwigs and hilarious to watch them chasing flies and things! They also finish off the childrens cereal in the morning (and our bacon sandwiches - they go mad for the fat!) and they love pasta. I do of course let them have free access to layer pellets and grit and oyster shell (essential to keep shells hard) so they have all their proper food as well.

If they are in their run during the day I ALWAYS pick fresh greens for them - grass, weeds, veg peelings (but not potatoes) and fruit left over. Apparently its the 'green' content of the diet which makes the yolk so yellow - take a test in a few weeks and compare your eggs to other barn kept eggs - the difference is very noticeable (even if the industry feeds their chucks colour enhancing chemicals - ha ha!)

Good luck with the chooks and have fun - they are amazing creatures and so funny. We just let our broody hen hatch out 3 chicks and I waste so much time watching them - the mother is so dedicated - feeding her babies first and showing them what to do even before she has any herself, clucking away constantly.

 

[Birker2020]

Hi there thanks for your responses. Hermangerman I will try the spaghetti route they will love that if they think they are worms! Karen JJ your chap sounds just like mine! Two Bays thanks for your advice, I will up the greens. We have put Oyster Shell out for them. The ear lobe thing about white ear lobed hens only laying white eggs was in a book by OH's brother lent him about Bantams, so it may be specific to Bantams only and not run of the mill hens.

Bob_Rob_n_Tiff they are called Henny Penny, Lucky, Clover and Parsley. We have only had them since Saturday and yet when my car pulls up outside my OH's mobile home they come running over to the side of their run to see me! Unbelievable. The dominant ones comb has gone very red and is standing up where the other hens have floppy pink ones, I am amazed as it wasn't like that on Saturday. I had heard it would change, but I didn't think it would change that quickly!!!