She was not sleeping in the hoop shelter I placed her in for safety, but where was she ? She hatched her brood in the tall grass in the bush just outside the farm gate, a place that is not at all safe from predators, as the other broody can attest to with the lack of feathers on her back. But the mamma hen was not in the hoop coop at night. She would come back there to rest during the day, to drink water from the waterer and occasionally eat some grain I tossed inside, but she would not be found there as dark approached.
The straw bales from last year are beside her. Today, one of her little ones got left behind and was calling loudly for her in the pen outside her area. I tried to collect him, but these little chicks are quick as ever and he darted inside the straw pile, still peeping away. This did not draw mother hen, which is strange, since she always came when her babies were crying. So, I looked for her and there she was nestled amongst the bales no more than a few feet from the crying baby. That is why she was not worried, I guess. So, I got her off her post and low and behold, there are three eggs there, but they are light brown and definitely not hers. She lays creamy white small eggs. She was sitting on them though, so another hen has begun a nest there. This hen will have started the incubation process by roosting there at night, but since she is not there during most of the day, the eggs would stop developing as they got cold.
It is quite interesting to see how quickly the babies are developing feathers and also to note the variety amongst them. The mother is a Polish Ameraucana bantam cross and the rooster is as well, though Wheaten and blue in colouration. The hen is blue and black with the Polish crest and small comb and is very winter hardy. I am hoping the babies will be mostly female since the roosters cannot stay in case they mate with their sisters or mother. Time will tell. Now that I know where the brood is, I can view them more closely. Too cute!
The straw bales from last year are beside her. Today, one of her little ones got left behind and was calling loudly for her in the pen outside her area. I tried to collect him, but these little chicks are quick as ever and he darted inside the straw pile, still peeping away. This did not draw mother hen, which is strange, since she always came when her babies were crying. So, I looked for her and there she was nestled amongst the bales no more than a few feet from the crying baby. That is why she was not worried, I guess. So, I got her off her post and low and behold, there are three eggs there, but they are light brown and definitely not hers. She lays creamy white small eggs. She was sitting on them though, so another hen has begun a nest there. This hen will have started the incubation process by roosting there at night, but since she is not there during most of the day, the eggs would stop developing as they got cold.
It is quite interesting to see how quickly the babies are developing feathers and also to note the variety amongst them. The mother is a Polish Ameraucana bantam cross and the rooster is as well, though Wheaten and blue in colouration. The hen is blue and black with the Polish crest and small comb and is very winter hardy. I am hoping the babies will be mostly female since the roosters cannot stay in case they mate with their sisters or mother. Time will tell. Now that I know where the brood is, I can view them more closely. Too cute!
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