Eggs

[DonaldRumsfeldsTofu]

This topic may seem trivial, so ignore it at your own judgment.

I had a (somewhat flawed) idea for my character. We're currently engaging in an adventure that leaves us in a swamp, close to a hamlet. We're back in the hamlet at this time. My idea was to buy a chicken and use it's eggs, along with trail rations, to feed me.

The problems with this idea, as the fellow party members pointed out;
1) The chicken might be hard to control, and the environment might be stressful for the chicken.
2) I'd have to apply this alchemical substance a witch sold to us that repels mosquitoes to the chicken, to keep it from dying of disease.
3) They were unsure as to how often a chicken would lay eggs. I did research on chickens, and they lay an average of 250 eggs a year. I think that's plenty to keep one person regularly sustained. Although there would be the problem of feeding the chicken. What did the evolutionary predecessors of chickens eat in the wild? Could the chicken survive on it's own or would I have to buy food, or help it gather food?

Would this idea be economic? Or with the mosquito repellant and the chicken feed, would I be losing more money and energy then saving by just sticking to trail rations? I considered a cow, but this would be much easier. What do you guys think?

Also, coincidentally speaking of eggs, our party got in a fight with a nest of Shocker Lizards. After slaying them, my character now would up with two Shocker Lizard eggs. As you'd imagine, they're quite large. Would there be a way to candle such objects to see if they're fertilized or not? (The DM has already determined that, but obviously, the players don’t know) If they’re not fertilized, they’d make a great meal, but I’d rather wait in case they are, but by then the eggs would be rotten. I’m curious as to whether I have some nestling comrades, or just a large breakfast.

 

[Zogg]

Uhmm... Either buy rations or have your cleric create food.

Chickens don't travel well and are unlikely to lay eggs in the process.

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

250 eggs a year is less than one a day. You plan to live off this?

I'd make an ommlette out of the shocker eggs. With all the jostling around your libal to give them, they probably won't hatch.

 

[alsih2o]

one of the keys to good egg production from chickens is a low stress environment. so if your adventurer leads a rather boring existence it will do well

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

Never fear! I have a solution.

The following is Open Gaming Content. You do not need to quote me or credit me. This is my gift to the children of the world.

=======================================

Mordenkainen's Magnificent Henhouse
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: Extradimensional henhouse, up to three chicken nests/level (S)
Duration: 2 hours/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

Ever the resourceful mage, Mordenkainen devised a means to transport chickens with him wherever he went. In combination with Mordenkainen's Magnificent Cow and Mordenkainen's Magnificent Pastry Chef he was able to enjoy quiche at all times throughout his many adventures.

The material component for this spell is a dozen live chickens, a stack of wooden boards, some nails, and some hay for the nests. It should be noted that Mordenkainen didn't exactly put a lot of time into spell research on this one.

=======================================

That should solve the problem.

edit: forgot to add the focus

 

[Ashy]

ROTFL!!!!!! ***That*** deserves its own freakin' adventure!!!

 

[Gez]

I've got two hens. Some comments about why they aren't practical beasts for a wanderer:

• Hens are not mammals.
• Hens eat all the time.
• The purpose of a hen is to flap out and poop on things.

More seriously, hens are animals that spend 1/3 of daytime eating, and another third sleeping. If you carry her in a box, she will starve; if you let her in the wild, she will slow you down considerably.

If you have a box to carry her, it will need to be frequently cleaned. Otherwise, the odor of the box, and the odor of the hen herself, will soon be unbearable. (Hens don't stink... If they're not forced to live in their dejections.)

If you want one egg a day, you'll need two hens. As a result, you'll frequently have two-egg days, but that's a bonus.

Hens are settled creatures. They explore "their territory" very slowly. They crave a routinish life. They'll also lay their eggs always in the same place. Except if they've known the rooster. A virgin hen don't care much about her eggs, but a hen that had chicks will be protective of them. If she finds out there's no more eggs in her nest, she will make a new nest, hidden somewhere. As hens aren't especially bright (although more than given credit for), leaving one egg is enough for her -- even if there were twelve eggs before. Furthermore, a decoy egg will work.

One solution may be to travel by night, and to camp during daytime. You may let the hens to wander around if it's safe, they don't much like to leave your company. They'll stay near, and will sing their beautiful (ahem) song (cot-cot-cot-cococot-cot-cot-cot) if you call them, to let you find them.

One last thing: They hate being wet. Empty a cup of water on a chicken, it will jump out of the way and throw a volley of indignated cot-cots. Quite funny. They're also all poor and miserable during rain. However, they like to scratch at the ground until they've exposed the earth, and then they'll roll in the soil, and recover themselves of earth. Probably an instinctual way to get rid of parasites.

 

[Jeph]

I've got two hens. Some comments about why they aren't practical beasts for a wanderer:

• Hens are not mammals.
• Hens eat all the time.
• The purpose of a hen is to flap out and poop on things.

rotflmao.

Dude. So there was this one hen and she was walking down this street, when this pirate jumped out at her and he was like a real pirate with lasers and a space ship and everything. So the hen she was like dude this is easy and she jumped on top of this building but the pirate knocked it down with his laser, so she jumped on top of another building and used her psychic powers to kill the pirate, and then there was this rooster and he made out with the hen because hens are AWESOME!

*When I wrote this I got so pumped up that I almost kicked my mom in the face!

 

[alsih2o]

i have owned hundreds of chickens of multiple types and gez is 100% dead on here.

 

[Tsyr]

I've raised a good many chickens as well (And phesants!), and Gez is quite correct... Chickens make for a poor portable food source.