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ClericGunem

Suggestion to add information to Hen page

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http://www.wurmpedia.com/index.php/Hen

 

Two methods appear to work.  

 

  • The method i used (which came from a mix of forum posts and other sources) was plain grass on NxN plain grass with no more than N hens, were each tile had 50+ wild grass in a pile, i would make sure the hens were not on the same tile when i would get the eggs daily i was getting maybe 1-3 eggs per day iirc as long as they stayed on their individual tiles 
  • The other method (call it Gaffer's method) seems to be more efficient and uses a 1x1 with 2 hens and large pile of grain on crop tile, he said he was getting maybe 6 eggs per 2-3 days per tile.

 

The numbers maybe be high or low, mainly my point is to add something that is a "working method"

 

[23:37:24] <Clericgunem> there is a trick to it
[23:37:57] <Clericgunem> make 1x1 pen (door on ether side) grass the pen, drop a pile of 100 grass, you will ahve eggs
[23:38:34] <Clericgunem> i use 4x4 with 4 chickens and 4 piles and make sure to move them to there separate tiles when they bunch up
[23:40:37] <Habet> i use six 1x1 pens with two hens each.  I drop piles of grain in each pen since i have plenty of it
[23:40:55] <Clericgunem> and you get eggs?
[23:41:37] <Clericgunem> the have to eat 2 times in a roow iirc and the seem to do it the same time and interfere with each other
[23:42:15] <Gaffer> yes, i usually drop 12 corn (or rye, or wheat)  in each pen.  In a couple of days the grain is gone and I pick up about six eggs
[23:42:49] <Clericgunem> nice, i will remember that
[23:43:23] <Clericgunem> i wonder, was it high ql veggies?
[23:43:25] <Finn> dont they eat 1 seed every 2-3-4 hours
[23:43:26] <Finn> per hen
[23:44:01] <Gaffer> http://imgur.com/kodzNhs
[23:44:04] <Finn> someone was making serious amount of eggs fattening hens all day, for what reason.... no idea
[23:44:43] <Gaffer> 12 grain lasts two hens a couple of days
[23:44:48] <Clericgunem> i have 30 i think in smc
[23:45:54] <Clericgunem> so 12 grain, 2 hens, 6 eggs, which is 3 each meaning 6 fails
[23:46:24] <Clericgunem> what does 1 hen with 12 gain give?
[23:46:44] <Clericgunem> i will ahve to hatch an egg to try
[23:47:21] <Gaffer> i haven't noticed that being alone in a pen results in laying more
[23:47:46] <Clericgunem> they lay 3 in a pen alone or 6?
[23:48:23] <Gaffer> i think six but it takes twice as long
[23:48:36] <Gaffer> would have to do a controlled experiment to be sure
[23:49:28] <Clericgunem> i want to try too, my method works, but yours sounds much faster
[23:50:58] <Gaffer> i get plenty of eggs.   I just have trouble getting a constant rate of hatching female chicks

 

 

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Also, Caredfor wild chickens still die at aged at what appears to be random.  

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59 minutes ago, ClericGunem said:

Also, Caredfor wild chickens still die at aged at what appears to be random.  

 

ive had a wild hen cared for that lasted like 3 years before i killed it

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Just now, MrGARY said:

 

ive had a wild hen cared for that lasted like 3 years before i killed it

 

it was about 8 months ago and I had all 4 in a 2x6 cared for and and still lost one, then after i replaced it i lost another (over the course of a couple weeks), after which i stopped caring for them (no pun intended) and it was easier to just replace them when they died.  I could have been mistaken on the first that died, but was certain all four were caredfor after i replaced the first one.  Granted there could be or have been other factors, but none i could find at the time.  So i should have said still "seems" to die..., but if working for you then nevermind

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I know they won't lay on any "man-made" kind of tile, like paving or magic grass. At this point I have mine in 1x1 pens, with one or two creatures per pen. All fences are gateways, no walls I can't walk through because it's too hard to get them in there. I used to have them loose in a big pen but when that "hens follow roosters" nonsense was going on, they would cluster together and get sick every day. So now the pen area is ugly but at least I'm not casting humid drizzle every day.

 

The eggs used to hatch more reliably in the past. Now it seems like they don't like to hatch on the same square as something already living. This could be my coincidental experience, but if I spread the eggs out one to a square with no other living things in the pens, I get a few hatches. Otherwise hatches are rare.

 

Someone in kingdom chat said they get eggs from hungry chickens. This didn't make logical sense to me, but I DO notice if I screw up and don't have food with them for a day, then I get more eggs. Wait I will paste the chat:

 


Skyefox> (Ind) you can feed them with piles.  but they will only lay if they eat 2 items of food, so keep them somewhat hungry and don't feed too much
Philo> (Ind) grass, by hand and foodpiles, have had many eggs in the past
Hughmongus> (Ind) yeah a Fat Hen does not lay
Lorrainej> wait, I never heard of this, that they can't be fat
Lorrainej> I thought they had to be fed well
Lorrainej> they don't lay on paved either
Lorrainej> or enchanted grass
Hughmongus> (Ind) we all did Lorraine
Lorrainej> all did notice they can't be fat??
Skyefox> (Ind) pedia states that they lay after eating 2 seeds (or other food), if they are constantly fed, they may only eat 1 item
Skyefox> (Ind) hence, no eggs
Hughmongus> (Ind) so leaving a pile of food is not an option...
Philo> (Ind) have seen in event them eat many seeds
Lorrainej> but all the time I've had chickens, I've left them piles of food
Lorrainej> is this a new development?
Rixk> (Ind) in the past when i had chicken i also left them piles of cut grass... and they were still giving eggs
Hughmongus> (Ind) just bee awhile to figure it out Lorraine
Lorrainej> but I have hundreds of eggs built up, by leaving piles of food
Hughmongus> (Ind) as long as they were hungry enough to eat two at a time Rixk, you would get eggs
Lorrainej> is it new now that they can't be well fed?
Philo> (Ind) yes, will try to be more patient and starve the chickens abit :)...ty
Giganthor> so what now ? leaving piles or not ? im confused now .. :(
Cecci> how much weight they need to be fed?
Skyefox> (Ind) not sure but I've had better luck with hungry hens than by leaving piles consistantly
Hughmongus> (Ind) starve them for a week from down from fat and well rounded and then just drop two food items
Lorrainej> let me switch to an alt by the chickens, I know they had piles for a few days. IDK if they've laid eggs
Lorrainej> did someone look at the code to see this two-item eating thing about the chickens?
Hughmongus> (Ind) for Lorraine... we worked it out be experimenting over several years
Moogien> (Cel) You will need to hand feed them or use foodpiles, there is some discussions about they need to one a little hungry and eat twice to lay eggs though.

 

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49 minutes ago, LorraineJ said:

I know they won't lay on any "man-made" kind of tile, like paving or magic grass. At this point I have mine in 1x1 pens, with one or two creatures per pen. All fences are gateways, no walls I can't walk through because it's too hard to get them in there. I used to have them loose in a big pen but when that "hens follow roosters" nonsense was going on, they would cluster together and get sick every day. So now the pen area is ugly but at least I'm not casting humid drizzle every day.

 

The eggs used to hatch more reliably in the past. Now it seems like they don't like to hatch on the same square as something already living. This could be my coincidental experience, but if I spread the eggs out one to a square with no other living things in the pens, I get a few hatches. Otherwise hatches are rare.

 

Someone in kingdom chat said they get eggs from hungry chickens. This didn't make logical sense to me, but I DO notice if I screw up and don't have food with them for a day, then I get more eggs. Wait I will paste the chat:

 

 

 

My conversation above with Gaffer was May 07 and as far as i know he has not changed his configuration and is still getting tons of eggs and he leaves food for them and did not mention starving them.  He pasted a note today that he picked up 58 eggs.  The method i used with piles of grass were never depleted and only time the eggs laying slowed was when i found hens on the same tile.  It may be that starving them is sort of gaming the "two feedings' logic and when they wander onto the same tile my hypothesis for them slowing was perhaps they interfere with each other eating, as Gaffer shows with sufficient food 2 hens on same tile in a 1x1 fence can produce eggs at near optimal rate, assuming the "two feedings" thing is fact.

 

So i would say there may be something to starving them, on the other hand it may take more overhead to manage the hens whereas sticking them in a pen with plenty of food seems to to produce well enough.

 

---

 

Just occurred to me that maybe the 2 hens on same tile actually interfere with each others feeding in such a way as to make them hungrier than normal...would potentially explain why my method of hen per tile with plenty of food produced 1/3 to 1/2 the eggs that Gaffer was getting.

 

Edited by ClericGunem
softened my tone :)

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I've been using/growing oats lately because I have tortoises, and oats are heavier and will feed the tortoises longer (at least by my logic). Maybe I should switch to seeds for the hens, because they'll need to eat more because the seeds are light. I'm afraid to starve the hens because that's shaky ground, I find they die fast if they go about two days without food.

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