MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

I hope this isn't a tasteless comment, but would the vet kill the boys in such a manner that they are fit to eat? Even if you wouldn't eat them it seems a waste for somenone not to.

No. It's gas followed by anaesthesia overdose. I won't be killing them myself under any circumstances. I'd do it wrong and cause suffering.

I already ease cost of living pressures for other people through donations to charities (monetary, food and goods) so my conscience is clear on that point.

The obvious other option is to not do a hatch at all. I'm still unconvinced that all hens like raising chicks (Peggy's infanticide was a very instructive moment for me) but until I've observed a few hatches I won't be able to form a strong opinion.

If you lived nearby I'd trust you to kill them and eat them with respect.

 

[Perris]

I'm still unconvinced that all hens like raising chicks (Peggy's infanticide was a very instructive moment for me) but until I've observed a few hatches I won't be able to form a strong opinion.

that's an interesting topic. From my experience, some hens never go broody, even if they are raised by a broody, share a coop with broody after broody, and in general witness all the ups and downs of broody life. For whatever reason, it is not for them. And because of flock dynamics, it does not have to be for their genes to be reproduced, as other hens in the flock can and do raise their young for them, so they can behave like cuckoos and other nest parasites.

I do not understand the hens that brood and then kill what hatches. I assume, but it is just an assumption based on vet shows and I have no personal experience to draw on here, that the hen's instincts are not well tuned to what follows from incubation, and like cows, sheep and other livestock, some simply do not recognize what they give birth to as their own. (Fwiw, I believe some women fall into like category.)

Farmers recognize the situation and foster the calf/lamb/whatever onto another to raise, and leave the new mum to recover, sometimes giving them another chance, sometimes sending them away. (Fwiw, I think that is more humane than how we treat such human mothers.) So maybe Peggy would do different second time round.

 

[LozzyR]

I do not understand the hens that brood and then kill what hatches. I assume, but it is just an assumption based on vet shows and I have no personal experience to draw on here, that the hen's instincts are not well tuned to what follows from incubation, and like cows, sheep and other livestock, some simply do not recognize what they give birth to as their own. (Fwiw, I believe some women fall into like category.)

Some women (not many, I would have thought) like being pregnant and like babies, but lose interest in them as toddlers and up and aren’t interested, or equipped, to raise them into well-adjusted adults. I actually know someone like that.

 

[BDutch]

that's an interesting topic. From my experience, some hens never go broody,

Yes it is interesting to discuss this. My hens all go broody, but one broody does as much better job than the other in hatching. And one chicken momma is better in raising and has a longer commitment than the other.

A neighbouring nest often causes problems. So I stopped trying that. One or two hens on one nest works better in my flock.

I have no personal experience to draw on here, that the hen's instincts are not well tuned to what follows from incubation, and like cows, sheep and other livestock, some simply do not recognize what they give birth to as their own.

I never had problem with hens not wanting to care after their own hatch.
But some did get very annoyed by chicks in a neighbours nest and started to peck the chicks very unkindly.

The eggs are often not their own, but from the flock in when you have rooster or bought (strange) eggs if you don’t or if you want another breed of fresh blood. The broody doesn’t mind.

Farmers recognize the situation and foster the calf/lamb/whatever

Commercial farmers often split the calf from the mother to sell more milk.

 

[Perris]

I actually know someone like that.

Was it recognized by others in her family? did she get any help from them or from the authorities? Typically here such women are treated like criminals, and not just metaphorically. I think it's barbaric.

 

[MaryJanet]

So maybe Peggy would do different second time round

I'll see how she copes with others' chicks first.

Peggy seems to consider herself Ivy's baby. The chick she killed had hatched under Ivy while Peggy wasn't looking. By which I mean Peggy and Ivy had been on the eggs together since the beginning. Peggy had wandered off when the chick started hatching then came back and squashed it. In my naivety I didn't realise anything was amiss, so I didn't intervene.

This time around the nest will be fenced off so she can't get to it.

 

[MaryJanet]

I actually know someone like that.

How were the kids cared for? Did the extended family provide care?

 

[MaryJanet]

It was a lovely day and I gave some time to the roost, replacing the non-slip on the ramp.

The old stuff was Stopp from ikea and it didn't cope well with the weather. The new stuff is more robust, but also intended for indoor use, so I'm curious to see how it weathers. It's the spongy stuff people put in their cutlery drawers.

In an hour or two, I'll be fetching Katie off the roost and putting her in the travel basket for her morning appointment at the vet.

 

[LozzyR]

Was it recognized by others in her family? did she get any help from them or from the authorities? Typically here such women are treated like criminals, and not just metaphorically. I think it's barbaric.

No, no help, Australia is woefully inadequate when it comes to looking after mental health. I suspect she comes from cyclic dysfunction, so wouldn’t have received love, care and boundaries herself.

 

[LozzyR]

How were the kids cared for? Did the extended family provide care?

I doubt it. There are multiple children to multiple fathers and some of them might be doing their best, but I doubt these kids are finishing Year 12 and going to uni/TAFE/a job.