Bird Smarts.....

We've noticed something quite interesting about our chickens and about our finches. When we returned from our vacation in August, we found that the finches had added many eggs to their nest and were actively sitting on them. We'd been gone about ten days, and in the quiet house, they'd been busy. When we returned, however, our active and noisy house seemed to disturb them, though they are off in a separate room. They quit sitting, and after some time, began rebuilding the nest on top of the old eggs, a sure sign that they'd given up on the eggs.

Meanwhile, in our chicken coop, we'd not had many eggs for ages. We had not let our chickens free-range for some time because between the foxes, raccoons and the neighbor's dog, they were in mortal danger. So we kept them "cooped-up". Lately, though, we've seen no varmits and the neighbor's dog has been kept home, so we've let them out. The interesting thing is that now happy with being outside, egg production has increased and you would not believe the improvement in the feathers of two of our chickens. One was nearly bald, and the other's feathers were actually curled up, though they aren't supposed to be. Now, both are sleek looking chickens, nicely feathered.

My observation is that in our birds, if they are stressed or in less than ideal environments, they don't lay eggs or at least don't sit on them to hatch them. If only humans were so smart.....