Chickens Foraging in the Woods

Chickens Foraging in the Woods
Chickens Foraging in the Woods

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

As of today our hen is still setting the nest.  Twenty one days is fast approaching with no sign of hatching.

This week I have had very few eggs, only a dozen a day now--not sure why--snake? hens becoming broody and laying in the woods? or mad at me for selling a few hens to a neighbor?  I will wait; God says that "Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven and in Earth, in the seas and all the deep places"  Psalm 135:6

I will wait on him until he reveals why or hens start producing more again.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

...I was glad that I delayed doing anything with those eggs; the next day a white hen was setting the nest and my original setter was off in the pen teaching her two chicks how to hunt for bugs.  I thought it odd, but interesting.  But it got even more odd; that evening the original setter, now new mama, returned to the nest and ran off the white hen who protested loudly all the way to the hoop house.  Even odder is that the next day the white hen was back on the nest and the original setter was again in the pen teaching her chicks to hunt bugs.  Once again as evening approached, the white hen was sent off to the hoop house.  This continued for several days.  Then when I began to accept this behavior as "normal" for my farm, I saw on the evening of the second day the two hens sharing the nest.

Since my farm is not normal, the sharing only lasted till the morning.  The original setter, now new mama, was gone and so were her chicks.  I didn't know where she was or even if she and the chicks were OK.  Thankfully, two days later she showed up with her chicks, hunting for bugs around the chicken house and pen, but she has not entered the pen where the white hen is still setting.  I am not sure if the eggs will hatch with all this "normal" behavior going on.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Nothing is normal on my farm.  I am not normal.  Some weeks ago one of my hens that lays olive colored eggs began setting a nest.  I was disappointed for her because earlier that week, I had seen some eggs under those steps and didn't want stray eggs around, so took them and disposed of them not knowing how long they had been there.  Now she is sitting maybe on two or three eggs, couldn't be many I thought.  As the 21 days approached for hatching, I saw a broken egg and a quick glimpse of a little chick.  The hen still sat on her eggs and tucked the little one under her.  A few days later she is off the nest with two chicks--one grey, one black.

Since she was off the nest, I had a chance to take a look--there were 10 eggs in the nest!!  None of them olive colored;  all were brown eggs.  The nest is under steps in an enclosed pen.  A hen has to fly over the six-foot fence to get in.  Looks like other hens flew over and just offered to lay eggs in that nest for her.  Now she is off the nest and I am not sure what I should do with them, but I didn't have time to deal with it.  Several days later......