Nap Time

I think this pic is sooooo cute! The expression on the little white one's face - "Ugg! More pictures? Some of us are trying to sleep."

I'm thinking about naming the little white one Pixie. The black one Pepper. And the lighter brown one Ginger. Still need a name for the darker brown one.......

Scritch Scratch

These pics were taken on Sunday.

Lavender is teaching the chicks to scratch for food.

I like this pic it looks like they are all lined up taking turns.

"Ok, now your turn." "Good effort. Remember bend with your knees"

"Now, here you want to use the two/one scratch.

Two scratches with the left foot. One with the right. Repeat."

The little white one (on the right) is so much smaller than her sisters.

I hope she catches up to them.

It almost seems as if she needed a

little more time to cook, she hatched too soon,

because she's always the

first to cuddle underneath Lavender.

I helped her to hatch.

Aren't their little toes cute!

Down To Five

I took the clear egg out and opened it.

This is what I found.

Just a normal egg, not a baby chick and nothing had or would ever develop from it.

I'm glad I took it out though, because eggs like this can eventually become rotten and explode. Yuck!

We're All Friends

Catty is mildly interested in Lavender.

Mostly she's wondering, "Why is there a chicken in my living room? And when is it leaving?"

Catty overlooks Lavender's nest.

"Are you done yet?"


This is a pic of Lavender sleeping.
See-her head is tucked under her wing.
Awwww, so cute!
And she is such a good broody.
Nothing bothers her!
I even vacuumed next to her and she didn't turn a feather.
Not impressed.

Go! Away!

Seriously, what are you looking at?!

Boo!

TLC Bay-be

I made a little snack for Lavender today.

The level in the waterer keeps going down, so I know she's drinking, but she isn't eating very much.

Of course, sitting on a nest doesn't use up too many calories, except she has to keep the eggs nice and hot.

I scrambled 2 eggs with a little milk, water, oatmeal, olive oil and brewer's yeast.

She gobbled it up!

The other ladies enjoyed their half of the snack too.

The Eggs Are Here

The eggs arrived yesterday!

They were well wrapped in lots of bubble wrap.

The temps dropped yesterday and we had a huge snowstorm with 8+ inches of snow.

The eggs are from Utah.

What a long, cold trip for 6 tiny babies!

So far, the eggs look good!

None were cracked or frozen.

I let them sit on my counter at room temp. for 12 hours.

The experts recommend 12-24 hours, but I couldn't wait any longer!

Letting them set at room temp. helps the air cell (in the egg) settle. The eggs are all shaken up from their trip. I just hope they're not scrambled.




Lavender sitting on her 6 new silkie eggs!

I moved her inside.

The broody hen pen in the garage was too cold for her.

Broody Hen Pen

Lavender is broody.......again.

*sigh*

She is broody about 4 times a year.

I've decided to let her (try) to hatch some eggs.

Lavender in her broody box.

I don't have a rooster, so I bought some fertile eggs from a BYCer

They are silkie eggs. Hmmm, the poodles of the chicken world!

The broody hen pen.

It has a light that turns on a 8am and turns off at 8pm.

Food and water, although she's not very interested in eating.

And a cozy nest. She's still sitting on her golf balls, but soon there will be eggs!

What's A Broody?

What's A Broody? Or Why Does My Hen Hate Me?

A hen lays only one egg every day or two.

She does not start to incubate them until the whole clutch is laid.

This way all the chicks will hatch at the same time.

When the instinct strikes, and the hen believes she has enough eggs in her clutch, she will go broody.

Hens can not count, so if you are taking the eggs away every day this will discourage broodiness, but not necessarily stop it. If she feels like it she will go broody!

Lavender demonstrates broody behavior

A broody hen will make muttering, growling sounds if disturbed, and may even peck or otherwise try to defend her nest. She will only leave the nest once a day to eat, drink and defecate. You should make sure the hen does do this at least every other day so she will not starve.

Watch out!

Broody hen droppings usually come out in one large, very bad-smelling glob.

They save it up just for you!

Some hen breeds (silkies, cochins or other bantams) are excessively broody. They will try to brood anything, including rocks, golf balls, air, other hens, kittens, ect.

If you want chicks:

It is best to move your hen to a protected nest once she has been sitting tightly for a few days.

This protects her from being chased off the nest by more dominant hens, leaving the eggs to chill and die.

Move her gently at night and keep the new nest dark for the next day.

Place a few golf balls in the nest.

If she stays on these tightly for a couple days, then give her the eggs you want her to hatch.

You can order fertile eggs from someone with a rooster. Maybe you want a variety of chicks - order a variety of eggs!

A hen is also called broody when she is raising her chicks, protecting them, teaching them to find food, and hovering over them to keep them warm.

Can I Make A Broody?

In a word - No.

Hens decide when they want to be broody. It's instinctive for some breeds, other breeds (Leghorns, sex-links, ect.) will never be broody, because broody tendencies have been bred out of them.

These non-broody hens will lay more eggs, but they won't be broody mothers.