BS: Hens talking to eggs

Subject: BS: Hen's talking to eggs
From: Joybell
Date: 15 Apr 10 - 08:32 PM

My hen talks to her eggs. Just a few little cheepy sounds and then she leaves them with nary another thought. She's not into motherhood at all and the eggs are not fertile anyway. I once witnessed the same thing with my neighbour's hen. She leaned over the nest and cheeped at her eggs for a few minutes before she left them.
I know chickens cheap from inside eggs. That observation turns up in folklore as in "...a chicken when it's piping it has no bone..."
But I can't find out about hens conversing with eggs.
I know I could go to a site devoted to chickens but I like it here.
Has anyone else witnessed this?
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Hens talking to eggs
From: Mo the caller
Date: 16 Apr 10 - 04:26 AM

Maybe it's part of her instinctive behaviour that hasn't been bred out.
I think reasearch has found that babies start to learn language before birth, so maybe chicks start to recognise their mum. Not that I've noticed mine talking to the eggs, maybe it's because I don't open the coop if one's inside.

I do enjoy their language though.

Subject: RE: BS: Hens talking to eggs
From: maeve
Date: 16 Apr 10 - 06:42 AM

Our bantam hens talk to their eggs, their chicks, each other, and to us. It's common behavior in chickens, ducks, and geese, along with many other (perhaps all) bird species.

In the Riddle song, "A chicken when it's pipping; it has no bone" "pipping" refers to the chick whacking the inside of the eggshell to break out an opening in the large end from which it can hatch. The little fluffballs certainly have bones, but they are somewhat malleable.

The sounds chicks make from inside the egg prior to and following hatching are more often referred to as peeping in the USA. I'm sure there are many other interpretations of their sounds.

For more scholarly and fascinating studies in this area and that of imprinting, look up Konrad Lorentz and his Greylag Geese.

maeve

Subject: RE: BS: Hens talking to eggs
From: kendall
Date: 16 Apr 10 - 09:08 AM

A chicken and an egg were talking after sex and the chicken said, Well, I guess we answered that old question."




I'll just get me hat...

Subject: RE: BS: Hens talking to eggs
From: maeve
Date: 16 Apr 10 - 10:31 AM

Here's your coat, too, Kendall. LOL

m

Subject: RE: BS: Hens talking to eggs
From: SINSULL
Date: 16 Apr 10 - 11:10 AM

Groannnnnnn.


I used to talk to Alice's kittens while they waiting to make their entrance. They would kick around complaining "Let me out of here!" lol

Subject: RE: BS: Hens talking to eggs
From: MMario
Date: 16 Apr 10 - 11:53 AM

from college days...

the hen "talking" to the eggs does help imprint them on her; though it is not necessary for imprinting.

the chicks peeping , which starts much earlier then you would think, actually helps synchronize hatching is a clutch that can span several weeks in being laid.

Subject: RE: BS: Hens talking to eggs
From: maeve
Date: 16 Apr 10 - 12:52 PM

Ours learned to follow me when I imitated the Greylag "Vee,vee, vee,vee"; something I started out of curiosity while they were still in the eggs. They also come on a run when I whistle the chickadee spring call "Pheebeee", and will hide and freeze when I make a hawk whistle.

When our best bantam Lil Bit was setting, her first and only love Archie would make himself a nest in the coop across from his crochety love, and talk quietly with her for hours as she brooded their eggs. Lil Bit herself was unable to stop talking except when she was hiding from a predator. Not one chirp from her would we hear until I could show her all was well. When Archie died she mourned- no other word for it- for nearly two years.

I really miss our pretty chickens now. We'll get the grandchildren of Lil Bit and Archie from the neighbor as soon as we are home again.

Nice thread idea, Joy. Thanks.

maeve

Subject: RE: BS: Hens talking to eggs
From: Joybell
Date: 16 Apr 10 - 09:57 PM

Thanks maeve and MMario. I guessed at the reason but I couldn't find anyone who'd witnessed it. I read Lorentz's books a long time ago. I'd forgotten him. I'll read them again now. Thank you, maeve.
I raise orphaned Australian Magpies each year and sometimes other wild birds but this is my first experience with chickens. I really like birds and relate to them easily. I'm looking forward to getting a few more chooks.
We have a sweet natured rooster who just adores his Big Red Mamma -- Scarlet O'Henna. He likes to share the nest with her and cuddle down under her like a baby chicken. Scarlet's eggs aren't fertile so either he's shooting blanks or he just can't manage to hit the right spot.   
Thanks, Kendall It's fun to have you hang your coat here a while.
Cheers, Joy