Hens culled after bird flu strain found on Scottish farm

The Scottish government has ordered a cull of tens of thousands of hens after a mild strain of H5N1, or bird flu, was identified on a farm in Fife, it said on Wednesday.

"Laboratory tests have identified a very mild strain of the H5N1 virus and a humane cull of almost 40,000 birds has now begun," a statement said.

It added that the flu was "quite distinct" from the pathological strain which has caused several hundred human deaths in other parts of the world [nL8N14U06P].

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What does a hen do with her unfertilised eggs?

Saturday 14 March 2015

A hen does not know if her eggs are fertilised or not. In fact (much like a human) a rooster can be infertile, so a hen's eggs might not be fertilised even if she is in a flock with a rooster.

Many modern breeds and commercial hybrid hens will do nothing with their eggs other than lay them and walk away. Many have had the instinct to brood [sit on their eggs to hatch them] bred out of them over generations. In a modern egg production facility, you do not want a hen to "go broody". When hens are ready to raise chicks, they will stop laying eggs for that period and it's very hard to convince them to give up the idea.

This does not mean that no hens will brood eggs; many breeds still retain their instincts to mother. Silkies, for instance, are renowned for their desire to sit on eggs. Other breeds, such as Orpingtons, Brahmas, Cochins, Marans, Cornish, and others go broody quite regularly. When a hen that has broody instincts lays an egg, she is forming a 'clutch' of eggs. She does nothing to care for these eggs other than hide them in a secure place until she is ready to sit on them. She will continue to lay eggs in this clutch until she has 'enough', which is a number anywhere from seven to as high as 20-plus. Once there are 'enough' eggs, a hormonal switch will occur that will put her into what's best described as a broody trance. She will stop laying eggs and begin to sit on them instead.

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That’s hen-tertainment… cockerels pose as movie stars for calendar

A dozen cockerels have become unlikely pin-ups.

The preening poultry feature in a calendar recreating famous Hollywood moments.

One copies John Travolta’s dance moves in Saturday Night Fever while others give James Bond, Batman and crime drama The Usual Suspects a rooster makeover.

read on

Rescued hen airlift costs $43 per bird

VACAVILLE, CA - An anonymous donor is spending $43 per chicken to transport 1,150 rescued hens from Vacaville to New York.

The Animal Place sanctuary, which obtained the hens from a commercial egg producer, coordinated the $50,000 airlift on a chartered cargo plane leaving Hayward Wednesday evening bound for Elmira, NY.

From there, the rescued birds will be taken to nine sanctuaries from Michigan to Maryland.

Animal Place spokeswoman Marji Beach acknowledges that some people will think the operation is a bit extravagant.

"We just take it as it is," Beach said. "We know what we're doing is good work. We know we're saving lives, and that's what matters."

Beach said hens are considered spent after about two years of egg production and producers must pay to have them gassed and placed in landfills because there are no slaughterhouses in California willing to take them.

Animal Place has reached out to egg producers around the state, offering to take the birds for free.

Animal Place rescued a total of 3,000 hens from the unidentified egg producer, but couldn't afford to send them all out of state.

The chickens not making the flight to New York will be put up for adoption at the Animal Place sanctuaries in Vacaville and Grass Valley.

by George Warren, GWarren@news10.net

http://www.news10.net/news/article/256321/2/Rescued-hen-airlift-costs-43-per-bird

Preston Illustrated Times - scan sent from Richard Muirhead

Remarkable Transformation on a Hen - from 1874