I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since I posted. I was a little under the weather for about a week of it – and I have no idea where the other went. Sometimes that happens.
Last week I was shocked to learn that BOTH Broody1 and Broody2 have gone broody again. *sigh* It’s only been about eight weeks. After my last experience with these two, I was really hoping not to have to deal with two broodies at the same time again. So much so that when I did spring cleaning in the coop, I only built one broody pen. So…… I added the second broody pen to the coop and put both broodies in them one night. Broody1 went right to her eggs and continued setting like nothing happened. Broody2 apparently spent the entire night trying to escape. The next morning her eggs were right where I put them in her pen, and they were stone cold. I put her back in the nest box with her eggs. I just don’t have the strength to fight with her this time. I’ll move her if/when the eggs hatch. Broody1 has ten eggs under her and Broody2 has four.
I’m hoping for more pullets out of this hatch. I’m hoping if I increase the number of pullets, I can keep both cockerels from the last hatch. They have names now. I mean, how can I get rid of them when they have names???
Meet Jethro:
And this is Pico:
Poor Pico is looking a little like an ugly ducking right now. He started off black, and is now sprouting brown feathers here and there. I can’t wait to see how he looks when he grows up. His mother is a White Faced Black Spanish, and his father is a Phoenix.
Take a look at this cute little egg.
This is only the second tiny egg I’ve found in the nest boxes and it just tickles me to death to find them. Too cute.
And, just for fun, here’s a picture of a normal size egg, the tiny egg, and an itty bitty wild bird egg on the far right that Bernie found.
Bernie found an abandoned nest in his sawmill with that little egg in it. The nest was apparently built during the four or five days we had rain and he didn’t work on the sawmill. The nest was soaking wet and had been abandoned. That little egg was the only one in it. I think it’s a House Wren egg. Cute little thing.
On a sad note, I lost yet another Golden Penciled Hamburg this week. This is the third Hamburg I’ve lost, and her symptoms were identical to the other two. Very suddenly they begin acting lethargic, and within a few hours they are dead. I seriously wonder if there is not some genetic reason for it. It makes me sad and each day I hold my breath as I let the chickens out of the coop in the morning and tuck them in at night for fear of finding a Hamburg looking puny. I only have four left now. On the up side, of the fourteen eggs the broodies are setting on, several are Hamburg eggs. I can only pray that if there is a genetic defect in these girls, it is not passed on to their offspring.
I don’t want to end this on a sad note, so I’ll leave you with something that should bring a smile to your face:
That’s Pico practicing his crowing by answering Duke’s crows. If that doesn’t get a chuckle out of you, you need to go back to bed. Both Pico and Jethro have been crowing a couple of weeks now. Lordy, those boys crack me up.
Broody hens, tiny eggs, and cockerels crowing. I think we’ve been here before.
Bee Free,
Penny
Tags: broody hens, cockerel crowing, tiny eggs
What’s really cute is when two hens decided to share the nest and the subsequent chicks. Generally, the more dominant hen will end up with the chicks and I feel sorry for the one left out. But often she’ll go broody soon.
I’ve never penned up my hens when they went broody, and have never had any trouble. You are a doting mother to your birds, for sure, just like a dear friend of mine. Her dog killed one of her chickens last month and she spun into a couple of weeks of inconsolablitiy.
Farm life is filled with life and death. It’s one of the best ways for kids to learn how to deal with the passage of life without the trauma. As a matter of fact, the facts of life are also presented quite well. LOL
You have beautiful birds, a nice collection of less common breeds.
Hi Faith – thanks for stopping by! Yes, you nailed it. I am indeed a doting mother. After the last time these two went broody, I was hoping penning this would make this time much easier on all of us. Broody1 is doing fine in the pen and seems perfectly content not to fight off the others that kept trying to lay with her. Broody2 is another story all together. She loves her nest box and I often find one or two others in there with her laying their eggs. She doesn’t care. I’ll move her after the chicks hatch. She’s just gets too ninja on all the other hens after the babies arrive.
Take care,
Penny
Penny, good to see you back here!
Sorry to hear about another chicken loss. I know that must be difficult.
Pico and Jethro are growing into handsome boys. I did get a kick out of Pico’s adolescent crowing. Just like a teenage boy, growing into his manly voice!
Hi Lilla – thank you. It’s good to be back. I spent a week feeling pretty puny, but I’m on the mend now. I could listen to my roosters crow all day. I just love it. And the babies crowing always makes me smile, if not laugh out loud. So funny to see those boys strutting around. I’m hoping they both are more like Bobby Lee and his laid back ways. Heaven knows one Duke is plenty
Okay wait. I was laughing too hard at that sweet little crow. I bet they go on and on like that all the time. How can you stand it? i wold be laughing every time?
Sorry to hear about another loss of the hamburgs. But, like you said…lets hope that you get some more in this batch and that they do a bit better. Youre such a great chicken mama.
And you know what Im gonna ask now, right? How much did those little eggs weigh? Cmon Penny….you know you cant post little eggs like that without my detail oriented side busting out. Youre killing me here….or wait….maybe youre doing it on purpose….hmmmm….
BTW, I got all 3 of your comments today!!! I was giggling at that.
Hi Frugalmom – Yes, you know I weighed those eggs….. they sure are tiny aren’t they? I also got a HUGE one yesterday! I weighed it too.
I could seriously listen to those little cockerels crow all day. It is seriously cute. I’ve often said if roosters laid eggs and didn’t fight, I would probably have an entire flock of them. I do loves my roosters.