Today I spent a little time making a brooder for the eggs I found.
It's only a bit of 12mm OSB with some old shelf bits for sides, but it will the new home for (hopefully) any chicks that may hatch over the next week or so. I also covered two out of four of the coop roof vents so the end where the brooder sits is in the darker section, which should keep her nice and calm.
Most of the eggs are Silkie eggs, but two are brown and have come from the hybrid layers we rescued from the farm two years ago. Rhydian is our only male, and he is a Silkie so I wonder what will come out of the brown eggs - will they be hybrid brown colour, will they be white, or will they be a strange mix of the two - it remains to be seen.
The weirdest thing about all this happened after I had made a new nest for the broody hen and the eggs. I had just lifted the hen off the eggs and was in the process of moving them ever so carefully, when I heard a cheep and felt the egg I was lifting move!
To be honest, I nearly dropped the egg as I wasn't expecting it to do that!
After the hen had finished drinking and eating from the containers I had put in the old coop, I put her on top of the eggs, and she nuzzled them as she got herself comfortable. The food and water are outside the brooder so she doesn't make it too dirty, and can stretch her legs when she wants something.
The last thing I did was to make sure the door was shut and locked. She is definitely living the dream of having her own secure apartment!
5 comments:
That's some luxurious dwellings!
Thanks Ruth....
...but does it have the 'Don' seal of approval!?
:D
Oh sweet
Love your new digs for the chicks. We lost one of our chickens for weeks and couldn't find her, then suddenly one day she was outside the front door with 2 day old chicks. They are still going strong and have free range of the garden. It's great to see them wandering about. I read somewhere that they look like mini dinosaurs - so very true. Our coq is a beautiful gold and black bird and the hens are brown, so now we have 3 chicks that are a lovely mix of the two. Look forward to seeing what yours turn out like.
Thanks Lottie - but enough about me, what about the chicks!?
;)
Hi Nearly 50..... I'd call you something else but I couldn't find your name on your blog!
I am so excited (or eggcited?) I've got butterflies just thinking about having chicks...
...like you said, hopefully the chicks will be a mix of the two breeds we have - that will be something - silky and hybrid...
...will they sport an orange afro!?
:D
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