mocha Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 On Wednesday when I went to shut my hens in for the night, I counted them all and one was missing. The next morning she was waiting outside my front door when I went to let the others out. Then I hadn't seen her since, until today. Today I found her sitting in an old hen house which hasn't been used for years, is nowhere near my hen houses and isn't at all secure. She was obviously sitting on eggs. I decided to move her to an unused rabbit hutch near my hen houses. When I lifted her she was sitting on a dozen eggs! I'd noticed she hadn't been laying for a few days but I didn't think it was long enough for her to have laid a dozen elsewhere. I moved her to the hutch and she had some food and water then immediately went back on the eggs. I took a short video of her putting all her eggs back where they should be I was so pleased that she settled into the new place so well & didn't seem at all bothered by me moving her! If my calculations are correct there should be some chicks June 3rd or 4th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Lovely. She might struggle to hatch such a large number of eggs. What sort of rooster do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Aww So cute I love the way they drag the eggs back under them. 12 is a lot so good luck with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mocha Posted May 18, 2010 Author Share Posted May 18, 2010 Lovely. She might struggle to hatch such a large number of eggs. What sort of rooster do you have? I have 3 and they all free range together with the hens, so the chicks are likely to be a real mixture. The boys are from eggs I got from a local place, to hatch under a broody Black Rock last summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mocha Posted June 22, 2010 Author Share Posted June 22, 2010 Update to this: She hatched 7 of the 12, one of those 7 didn't make it so now there are 6. They're all doing well and are just over 2 weeks old. We had a surprise today, another hen had been missing for a while, but she kept occasionally reappearing for some food. I did wonder if she was sitting on eggs somewhere but couldn't find her. Today she reappeared with SIXTEEN chicks! I'm surprised she managed to hatch so many in the first place, but even more surprised that they made it back to my garden. I've hunted around and found where she hatched them and it's amazing that she managed to lead 16 chicks back here from where they hatched. Mum & all her chicks are now safely tucked up in a house with an attached run, safe from Mr Fox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 How many! Do we get any photos/videos of them all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mocha Posted June 22, 2010 Author Share Posted June 22, 2010 Here's a video on you tube I'm not sure if you can see all 16 in there, I think I can only count 15. I'll takea longer one tomorrow and see if I can get them all in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 16!!! Bless her - what a dedicated Mum she is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Wow didn't she do well!! It takes me back to my childhood when my dad kept bantams and every year without fail, one would just turn up with a trail of little fluffies behind her. I don't know how they manage it, particularly when you consider the precautions we take to keep them safe these days!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mocha Posted June 23, 2010 Author Share Posted June 23, 2010 Wow didn't she do well!! It takes me back to my childhood when my dad kept bantams and every year without fail, one would just turn up with a trail of little fluffies behind her. I don't know how they manage it, particularly when you consider the precautions we take to keep them safe these days!! That's what amazed me really, with the first hen who went missing, when I found her and the eggs I moved them and then she sat and hatched just over half of them. I'd moved her because I thought a fox would get her in the old (insecure) henhouse. This one which came back yesterday did it all with no interference, the place she'd made her nest was in amongst very thick bracken and brambles, on a very steep banking, quite a hard place to get to for anyone except her! It just shows that she knew perfectly well what she was doing without me sticking my nose in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mocha Posted June 23, 2010 Author Share Posted June 23, 2010 Here are a few pics. I hope they won't be too large, I can change them if they are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 They are gorgeous! Well done mum As I understand it, broodies don't have much scent, a survival mechanism really, which is why they aren't always found by foxes. Now broody poos are something else!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meezers Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Gorgeous chicks and she deserves to be one very proud mum. Can't help thinking nature knows more than we ever will, maybe if we want the best hatch rates , we should just leave the chooks to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
