Nesting Season

H

Hockeybob

Active member
It's May and its nesting season. The first 2 weeks of May is when the majority of the hens will be on nests. A hen will lay 1 egg a day until she lays between 12-14 eggs. She does not sit on the nest until all eggs are layed. What we do not need is any freezing temps. The 10 day outlook looks good so far. If temps do drop below 32 and the hen has yet to finish laying all the eggs they will freeze and all not hatch. Successful First nests are the best and will produce the most and healthiest chicks. Here's hoping to a nice, warm first few weeks to May!

Bob
 
Hockeybob said:
It's May and its nesting season. The first 2 weeks of May is when the majority of the hens will be on nests. A hen will lay 1 egg a day until she lays between 12-14 eggs. She does not sit on the nest until all eggs are layed. What we do not need is any freezing temps. The 10 day outlook looks good so far. If temps do drop below 32 and the hen has yet to finish laying all the eggs they will freeze and all not hatch. Successful First nests are the best and will produce the most and healthiest chicks. Here's hoping to a nice, warm first few weeks to May!

Bob
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thanks for the update Bob, we will all be anxiously watching the weather.
 
If anyone is interested on more detailed information on this just google "Iowa pheasants Forever" get on the website and then click on Education then click on the life of a pheasant. This is a very detailed report. One of the next important times is when Hay is harvested. Many hens are lost as they refuse to leave the nest after all eggs are laid. If farmers delay harvesting 7-10 days the chicks will hatch and hen can get them away from the blades to safety.
 
Hockeybob said:
If farmers delay harvesting 7-10 days the chicks will hatch and hen can get them away from the blades to safety.
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I hate seeing hens get killed in hay fields but farmers have to cut hay at a certain time of plant development in order to maximize nutritional value.
 
Cool season grasses basically go from high quality feed to poor quality feed in a week to ten days. Digestibility and protein content drops @ 50 percent in 10 days. So really good hay can be fed with out grinding and with little extra inputs (corn, protein) and the cows love it. Poor quality hay needs to be ground and supplimented. Higher cost with poorer results. The warm season grasses (BB Stem, Switch grass) change this up a bit because they aren't ready to cut for hay until July. But now in early may, the warm season grasses are kind of short and waiting for heat.
 
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