I find no rhyme or reason in why two of my hens would decide to go broody on me. I also can't figure out why one of them is setting on an empty nest. Dominique #4 (I hate to admit it, but I just can't tell the surviving Dominiques apart - so they never got proper names) felt her biological clock ticking last week. I don't mind her having a few eggs to hatch, but because all the hens love to lay their eggs in the same nesting box, she is now sitting on 19 eggs. Yes, 19 eggs, damn her. Her sister, #3, decided to follow #4's lead and started setting in the nesting box next door - only she's not setting on any eggs. Let's just say that #3 might not be that bright.
Tonight, after getting two eggs in two days (at least one hen has refused to lay in #4's vicinity), I shooed #4 off of her nest for a minute and counted the eggs and numbered them with my handy-dandy Sharpie pen. I took pity on #3 and placed four eggs under her. Perhaps sometime in mid-June we'll have even more babies at Little Creek Farm. Of course, I'm planning on being out of town and in the North Georgia mountains when the chicks are due, but more on that later.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Must...Raise...Family
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I'll be watching this with great interest, since I think when we hatch eggs in the future, we would like to do it the "natural" way. It's not so good for your egg supply, though!
ReplyDeleteAhh, broody hens. Something I still have to look forward to. Sounds like you're dealing with it well.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a broody cockatiel. But she didn't have a mate, so it was all in vain, poor thing....
LOL! #3 is lucky to have you as a mama.
ReplyDelete"Eh, I think that one's setting on an empty nest, if you know what I mean." Excellent cloaked insult!
ReplyDeleteFunny, the first thing I thought of when I saw the "Must...Raise...Family" title was that it's exactly what my brain tries to tell me when I've been out in the garden or the pasture too long.
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