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One more thing, do not place previously laid eggs into nest until hen goes through cycle to prepare nest and lays first egg directly into nest. My hens must go through cycle in first day to scratch out bowl and place vegetation around perimeter. If egg(s) present before that starts, then they...

Plastic dish pans work just as well but use the shallowest you can find. They are less costly. Basket above used as much for photogenic needs as anything else. I have played around experimenting with various containers and media for use as nesting material. Materials found to work include...

You may be able to simply place a new nest in location hen currently using. I use as follows. Sides low so hen more likely to think she is in same location.

Show a picture of location she is laying eggs on board. Without knowing more, I would add an additional nest placing it where hen is currently laying. Do not move existing nest or otherwise change arrangement of items in close proximity to nest site. I would make so nest is relatively...

Situation above is evolving. Hen each morning runs about like a harem master pecking each of her juvenile offspring. This appears to be causing stags to remain longer on roost. Hen runs about showing cotton. I have never observed a hen without a harem for so long.

Last week on two occasions I took same hen referenced earlier in thread on day trips with two juvenile offspring (1 male and 1 female). Hen is currently rearing a brood of seven 11-week-old chicks (2 males and 5 females). Each trip started at dawn when hen and same to juveniles where pulled...

Still some observations to report.

ROOSTERS INDICATING GOOD NESTING SITES Yesterday evening I had six American Dominiques (1 hen: 5 pullets) out walking among cock/stag pens of yard. One of the pullets caused several penned males to indicate good nest sites as she walked by. The others females did not stimulate such behavior...

A harem established in yard is made up of two hens and a bullstag. All are part game, none pure. During day they move about as a tight group and until this morning the stage would go into cockyard where he would cover hens not part of his harem. Game changer appears to have been one of his...

Yard has size to it, several acres which are used by birds. I also maintain several distinct roosting sites and many sub-flocks are actually initiated as brooder reared cohorts. Such cohorts have all members imprinted on each other and they do not like non-members. Occasionally although not...

HEN FIGHTS OFF ROVING GROUP OF STAGS AT FEEDING STATION Virtually all my hens are penned for duration of breeding season to ensure I have control over to whom hen is mated and what hen a given egg in a nest comes from. I now occasionally release a hen or two so they can dust bath bath and get...

AGE OF DISPERSAL I have three flocks with roosting site very close to house. Flock 1 is about 20 weeks post-hatch, flock 2 (front porch) is about 16 weeks post-hatch, and flock 3 is about 12 weeks post-hatch. Each group has at least some members that are American games which are principle...

Brownie's eggs all hatched yesterday and day before except one early this morning. Duration of her setting on eggs to first hatch only 18 days. This high heat is consistently screwing up hatches making so late hatching embryos would not survive without my intervention. Last egg to hatch was...

HENS PREFER COCKS OVER STAGS For some reason my hens prefer to interact with cocks. Initially I thought possibly hens saw differences in feathering. Cocks have more flowing sicles and longer flight feathers in addition to longer spurs. Cocks also are generally heavier as well, and almost...

ECLIPSE MOLT UNDERWAY FOR SLUGGER Eclipse hackle feathers are shorter, with rounded black tips. They are very numerous but most do not extend beyond primary hackle feathers. Slugger must be hot with two coats. All but main sicle feathers lost. New ones coming in as blood feathers.

Darnit, Brownie has commited to setting after only 7 eggs laid. She is on nest tonight. She skipped two days with respect to producing an egg / day. This happens late in season when birds stressed by heat. Slugger will be moved tomorrow and pen placed in new location for next 23 days or so...

CROSSING SKIRMISH LINES I am watching two harems. First bounded by yellow is led by an American Dominique x California Gray rooster has a single adult hen about 17 days into brooding a clutch of eggs and includes about 35 juveniles derived from 5 broods, most were brooder reared through the...

Edit: Got egg one at about 5:30 PM on 7/08. We are roughly two weeks from beginning of incubation and 5 weeks from hatch. Edit: no egg 7/09 Edit: one egg 7/10 (n=2) Edit: one egg 7/11 (n=3) Edit: one egg late 7/12 - PM fed salmon fillet with skin on to put fat and carotenoid into Brownie to...

SEQUENCE IMMEDIATELY PROCEEDING START OF LAY FOR A CLUTCH I need more chicks to ensure enough birds next year that have a particular color pattern for use in an experiment. Brownie and Slugger, despite being full siblings, are both heterozygous for the alleles desired in the homozygous birds...

ROOSTER ATTACKED HEN NOT OF HIS HAREM Brownie (bullpullet) has been incubating her clutch that is nearing hatch. She and Slugger (bullstag in first post) were released together daily for about 15 minutes for mating while she was setting her clutch. They have pen in adjacent pens for the...