Chickens

Thought I'd give a quick (hmmmm, perhaps not so quick) update on the chooks. Golly gosh, I swear these pets are more stress than I ever thought they would be (but I still luv em!).

(Sunshine)

A few weeks ago, Sunshine, our great big Coronation Sussex decided to go broody. Sigh. Broody means that she sits on a nest of eggs hoping for them to hatch (and no eggs being laid by that chook). Unfortunately when you don't have a rooster, the chook sits on her eggs forever and a day and nothing happens.

So in all my wisdom I decided to get some more eggs. Wrong move number 1. LOL.

I talked with my good friend Vicky and we were both keen on some Blue Orpingtons and Silver Laced Wyandottes and had found a new place that sells fertile eggs so we thought we'd try them out.

As it turned out the 12 eggs I brought just happened to arrive when Vicky was here, so the boys and Vicky and I went and put them under Sunshine. It was really cool.

Unfortunately the new hatchery got the order wrong and we were sent 12 orpingtons instead of 6 Orps and 6 SLW.

However (and the saga goes on), in that time Frizzy a small black silky frizzle had also gone broody and the lovely lady at the hatchery said she'd send us the 6 SLW at no extra cost.

WHEW!

 Problem number two.

Our new broody's are sitting in the nesting boxes and while the other chooks push them (sort of) aside to lay, it really wasn't working and in the end they have started to lay elsewhere. But the problem is WHERE?! We have found a couple of eggs randomly amongst the grass, but the rest of them? They're rotting somewhere! ARGH! What a waste. And yes, I've looked and looked and so has Kaya and my kids. Nothing found!

So next thing, buy another hutch for the broodies to go into.

Bidded on a couple on Trade Me, but I can't believe how much they are selling for! Seriously! Finally brought one but then was on Jury duty so couldn't pick it up until today.

WHEW.

Problem number 3: I go to move Sunshine and of the 12 eggs, there are only 9 under her. There is also two from another one of our chooks (not fertile) and one sitting cold on the floor.

The remaining eggs are pretty dirty and look like they have yellow on them. Yolk? So I move her and the remaining 9 eggs to her new much bigger area (freeing up the nesting boxes again) but am wondering what happened to the two eggs that weren't there? Any ideas anyone?

Could she have stood on them, cracked them, then eaten them?

Could a rat have gotten in and taken them?

I just don't understand. There were no eggs. No shell. Nothing. Just missing eggs.

She did settle in quite quickly on her eggs though. Whew.

(when you go near them when they are broody, they fluff up and start making a funny 'broody' noise, that's what she's doing in this photo)

And Frizzy, my other broody, just didn't like her new area. Took her all afternoon to settle in. Thankfully she doesn't have real eggs yet. I'm thinking that hopefully she'll settle down overnight so when the SLW eggs arrive she'll be ready to hatch them.

So, you can see today was a little stressful. ROFL! Blimmin chickens. Who would believe I, yes me, Trina McClune would ever have chooks, let alone stress over them like this. Too funny!

And on that note, I'm off to make some birthday invitations for my girl. 

Comments

[Elizabeth]

my girls do the same dance when we get close to them (when i'm not chasing them around the yard lol) it's the position they get into for special cuddles, they think we're roosters lol silly birds! Sunshine is just beautiful though... what is she?

[Danielle]

Goodness me Trina! That is hard work!!

[mandyb]

oh my!!!!!!!!
its like parenting littlies ALL over again!!!
lol

[Raewyn A]

oh no the neighbours haven't been over to take some eggs have they? Sorry to hear your chicken farming is being stressful at the moment, keep posting how it is all going though cos I enjoy reading about them.

[Trace]

It's only stressful cos you keep buying eggs ROFL.