4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Gallina]

I am going to be optimistic and put this topic under Chickens, rather than under Eggs.

 

Buffie (Buff Orpington, now known as Mummy Hen) is in the Eglu on her own sitting on six white Cochin eggs from Penrith. She is forever turning them, and fussing, and I wonder if she is doing more harm than good.

 

She started sitting on Sunday 29 June at midday. At first she refused to have any straw in the Eglu nest; but today I put some beside her and she has pulled it all in. She growls all the time, and her feathers are standing on end.

 

She comes out once a day to feed and drink, and does an enormous poo (the like of which I have never seen before). She keeps the nest spotless.

 

I gather that if I get any chicks, it will be three weeks to the day when I started. I know I must remove the bars by then, but I don't want Mummy to feel that anything is strange at the moment.

 

What a responsibility this is! Not to be underaken lightly.

 

[Snowy]

Awwww, a chicken pancake

Fingers crossed Gallina - does sound like she is being very conscientious about it all!

[Olly]

gosh, she looks huge!

 

Fingers crossed ...

[chelsea]

hope they hatch, cant wait to see some adorable ickle cochin chicks.

 

Come on buffie - you can do it!

[superjules]

Good luck Gallina and Buffie.

[Yolky]

Oh my goodness look at that big fluffy chook. She looks gorgeous. Can't wait to see a few cheepy chicks

[Chickvic]

Wow - they really do pancake don't they! Good luck!

[lisa33]

She looks massive!!

 

Good luck to you both!!!!!

[Gallina]

Thanks for all your kind words.

 

I have never had a broody hen before, and it is a surprise to me too. She looks like a fluffy flatfish. She cares about nothing except sitting on her eggs. I feel so sorry that she has three weeks of this.

 

I so hope we get something at the end of it: just two hatchlings (with at least one a girl) would make it all worth while.

[welsh sarah]

she looks like a large puff ball

 

hope they hatch

sarah

[Lapinou]

Fingers crossed for you! I think we won't be going anywhere near hatching for a good few years yet, but I imagine it's something my children will be very interested in doing at some point - bigger garden, more money for more eglus etc.... and also, of course, much more experience in caring for chickens. It sounds like such an exciting thing to do though

 

(oh yes, and might also get having all my own babies out of the way first )

[superjules]

Thanks for all your kind words.

 

I have never had a broody hen before, and it is a surprise to me too. She looks like a fluffy flatfish. She cares about nothing except sitting on her eggs. I feel so sorry that she has three weeks of this.

 

I so hope we get something at the end of it: just two hatchlings (with at least one a girl) would make it all worth while.

 

Know what you mean - you'd think they'd get bored. I just wanted to give Yum-yum and Bossy a book each to pass the time!!

[Egluntyne]

Good luck Gallina.

[WitchHazel]

Gallina, how lovely!

 

Good kuck to you and Buffie... hope to get lots of reports on progress through the next three weeks.

[Gamebird]

Good luck Gallina.

 

Buffie is probably very content and fulfilling her maternal instincts.

[craftyhunnypie]

A splatted chicken! Bless her - bet she can't wait to have some foster chickies.

 

Good luck!

 

Emma.x

[Gallina]

WitchHazel asked for lots of reports on progress, but the problem is that nothing actually happens until hatching. Having managed to satisfy Prudence, I now have to bow to Patience.

 

I still have a hen who looks as though she has been flattened with a frying pan (à la Tom & Jerry). She appears to be coming out once a day to eat, and is less fun than a cushion.

 

The only event is that one of the six eggs was kicked right out of the Eglu on Monday. I wrote "COLD" on it and put it back under her as an experiment to see if an egg that goes cold 24 hours after starting can be revived. I probably shouldn't have done that: poor Buffie may have decided that she couldn't manage more than five, and I don't blame her. But she is still sitting on it.

 

The two ramps I ordered for my Cubes arrived yesterday: I don't think chicks will be able to manage the Cube ladder.

 

The Eglu is the perfect home for a broody hen: she doesn't want company, and the nest is just the right size and shape for eggs.

[Egluntyne]

The two ramps I ordered for my Cubes arrived yesterday:

 

Ramps? Where from?

[Gallina]

Sorry, I hope I didn't give the impression that the ramps came from Omlet.

 

Flyte So Fancy http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/ made them specially for me to the size I wanted (one metre in length and 30 cm wide). They drilled the holes exactly where I needed them and provided cable ties.

 

The total charge for two ramps was £45 including carriage. I am sure that handier people than myself could easily make their own, but I am useless and my husband is even worse.

 

I will have to stain the wood before putting them into the runs.

 

This isn't just for the potential chicks. My Buff Cochin has extremely short legs (even by Cochin standards) and struggles with the ladder.

 

(Edited as I got the name of Flyte So Fancy wrong the first time)

Edited July 3, 2008 by Guest

[prettychic]

Wow big fluffy mumma, good luck x

[Egluntyne]

Sorry, I hope I didn't give the impression that the ramps came from Omlet.

 

Flytes of Fancy made them specially for me to the size I wanted (one metre in length and 30 cm wide). They drilled the holes exactly where I needed them and provided cable ties.

 

The total charge for two ramps was £45 including carriage. I am sure that handier people than myself could easily make their own, but I am useless and my husband is even worse.

 

I will have to stain the wood before putting them into the runs.

 

This isn't just for the potential chicks. My Buff Cochin has extremely short legs (even by Cochin standards) and struggles with the ladder.

 

Sounds interesting. Can we see a photo when they are in place?

[buffie]

Good luck Gallina.

 

Buffie is probably very content and fulfilling her maternal instincts.

 

 

Had to read that twice

 

Good luck to Buffie, great name

 

BBx

[Gallina]

Oh no, I have just read this here on the Omlet website about Cochins:

"The chicks are strong when they hatch but take 22 days rather than the usual 21 to emerge."

 

This means an extra day of waiting.

[BeckyBoo]

Just caught up with this, how exciting. We put 7 eggs under our Speckled hen when she went broody and she hatched 5, in fact at one stage she was sitting on 12 which she managed to cover quite comfortably but the 5 from our friend were infertile. She's one fluffy looking hen, looking forward to the pictures if you get chicks! Ours took us quite by surprise by ALL arriving on day 20!

So how many days left now?

 

Mrs B

[Gallina]

My eggs should hatch on Monday week (21 July). I was planning for them to hatch on Sunday 20th, but have only just learnt that Cochin eggs take a day longer than other hens' eggs to hatch. (Trust Cochins, they are always last).

 

I am however looking on them simply as eggs to keep my broody happy. If I don't believe there are chicks inside, I won't be so disappointed if nothing happens.

 

My broody hen is coming out to eat and drink, but I thought yesterday after eleven days on the nest she deserved five minutes of fresh air, so I put her in the grass pen with her friends. I was shocked that two of them immediatley launched an attack on her. Do hens really forget their old mates this quickly?