kannie Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 The other evening I got home in the dusk: the chooks were still up but only just. I made them some porridge and switched the floodlight on to illuminate their snack. Then I came up to the computer and forgot them! When OH came home at about 6.30, the chooks were still up and looking rather bemused. He switched the floodlight off and they quickly went to bed. However the following morning we found two eggs in the run! One was soft shelled, but the other was fine. Matilda also laid an egg (in the nest) that morning! Isn't this weird? In the summer they always stay up later than 6.30, so there must be something about the sudden change that tricked their body clocks, and made them lay 12 hours early! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 In battery farms, they have huge lights. They encourage the chicken to lay eggs. Same as in summer and winter. Except some Battery Chickens won't get a chance to see daylight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannie Posted February 17, 2007 Author Share Posted February 17, 2007 Yes, but one a day you'd have thought! They'd already done their morning eggs (at least one of them had!) Somehow the light being switched on must have made them think it was dawn already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Well if the light is on all the time, the chooks might be fooled into thinking 2 days have come along at once! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Just thinking back to last august. I had a 5 egg day from 2 chickens, we hadn't had any for a couple of days and then I looked and there was 4 in the nesting box and one in the run! Bizarre, the record for most eggs laid by 1 hen in a day is 9 i think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 This link says that the most eggs ever laid by a single chicken in one day is seven. (I can hardly believe this.) I used to take it for granted that each hen would lay one egg a day; so far this year I have had just one egg altogether from three hens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Absolutely fascinating, Gallina. The two facts which strike me most are that there are more chickens on the planet than there are humans and that the chicken is the closest living relative to T Rex (dinosaur not Marc Bolan et al!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen & co. Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 and that the chicken is the closest living relative to T Rex (dinosaur not Marc Bolan et al!) My son thinks it is so cool having dinosaur 'relatives' in the garden karen x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 The thought of a 9 yolker makes my eyes water for the poor chicken that laid it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannie Posted February 20, 2007 Author Share Posted February 20, 2007 I'm interested in the bit that says the poo from one chicken can run a 100 watt lightbulb for 5 hours! Are we missing a trick here? What do you do: put it on your fire?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel (& Paul) Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Dont! A friend of mine gave us some of their old wattle fencing. We used it as kindling and then got a kind of "chicken poo aroma" We later found out she had the fencing in with her chickens Burnt a treat though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
