3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[JillM]

My eggs fom Wernlas arrived good and early this morning, but unfortuately I was already at work so I had to spend the day waiting to come home!!!

 

I turfed the broody off the rubber eggs so she went to stretch her lgs and get some water (I keep a bowl of food next to her) then set up the laybox with a nested area and placed the new eggs in. I don't know what she thought of coming back to cold eggs with writing all over them but she settled down straight away. She looks rather like a feather pancake!

 

So this weekend I shall get my son to finish converting the guinea pig run into her brooding and rearing area, and start getting supplies in for when the little ones hatch...

[craftyhunnypie]

When you move her. I'd be inclined to lift her out sat in the box. She will not want to be turfed off those eggs now!

Good luck!

Emma.x

[JillM]

Good thinking

 

The 8 eggs (comprised of 6x gold appenzeller and 2x old english pheasant fowl) are now at day 10, and I candled them last night. Didn't see the veins (my eyes aren't good), but found dark patches within 6 of them, 1 very clear egg, and 1not so clear. The good news is that the doubtful eggs are from the larger apenzeller group, so I'm still in with a chance of a female old english pheasant fowl.

 

The broody coop is nearly ready for her, I bet she can't wait to get some peace and quiet away from the other girls - they keep laying right where she's sitting despite the other half of the lay box being clear!

 

Time to go shopping for the chicks needs....

[atsw]

Good luck with the hatch. When you come to move the broody, do it at dusk. That way, she's all sleepy and will quickly settle back onto the eggs in her new surroundings. If you do it during the day, when she's more wake, there's a danger that she'll get up and wander off!

 

Andrew

[JillM]

Thanks Andrew, I wish I'd read this before I moved her yesterday ...

Thankfully, however, she did finally settle down after much vocal disagreement with her new arrangements. I'm now just worried that she is not as warm and cosy as she was in the cube, particularly as the weather has one cold again. I'll just have to trust in her built-in duvet for the time being, and hope that the weather will improve again soon.

[Redwing]

As long as her new home is sheltered she will be fine

[JillM]

It's a bit of a hotch-potch to be honest, Redwing!

 

It's a guinea pig run with extra wooden slats around the sides and ends to raise it up, on bords for a base on top of a pallet to keep it off the ground. Of course that means it has very little shelter over the middle of it as it's almost all wire - so an old tent gound-sheet has been fastened over the top of the Omlet WIR (keeping the other girls in the 2m+1m cube run when not FRing for the time being, and this contraption in the WIR so the broody can get some peace)to provide shelter from sun and rain, and have cut up part of the tent outer to fasten over most of the wire area of the ex-guinea pig run to darken and protect the nesting area while allowing plenty of ventilation. It flaps about a bit at the minute, so I will be stitching it on tomorrow! - Very Heath Robinson!!!

[atsw]

As long as it's all nicely sheltered, it does not matter what it looks like. Broody hens go into a sort of trance once they have settled onto eggs. They eat and drink very little, and just sit it out for the first 15-18 days. Then, as the big day approaches, the come back to life, eating and drinking a lot more to get ready for the big hatch on day 21. My broody Pekin (bantam) was almost totally motionless for the whole time, she never got up, never even to stretch or have a poo (I lifted her, cleared what little mess she did deposit, and replaced her - she hardly seemed to notice she was so zoned out .)

 

Andrew