Tonight at closing time I discovered one of our bantams, Q-tip, had gone broody in the nest box of her pen. Since she's an experienced broody I went ahead and gave her the eggs I want her to incubate. Usually I'll separate the hen and wait another day or two to make sure she'll stick with the job. And usually I'll remove the banty eggs these little hens begin with and give them standard-sized chicken eggs, or duck or goose eggs, to hatch instead. However, last summer I lost most of my bantam flock to bobcats, the reliable little broody hens and the colorful little roos. So I want to make some more banties.
Q-tip had just one egg under her when I found her this evening. I gave her 9 more bantam eggs and fixed her a more comfortable nest in a little plastic crate and secured her in a dog carrier. She did the "chickie cha-cha" to settle the eggs underneath her and is now setting on them all with that far-away glazed broody stare on her face. I expect the eggs to hatch March 7.
By the way, this hen got her name because when she was a tiny new chick she looked like the white fluffy end of a Q-tip swab. She's a pretty white-feathered little mixed-breed banty hen today, and a good broody & mama hen too.
Please wish Q-tip great success, a high hatch rate, and a particularly high percentage of pullets!
Q-tip had just one egg under her when I found her this evening. I gave her 9 more bantam eggs and fixed her a more comfortable nest in a little plastic crate and secured her in a dog carrier. She did the "chickie cha-cha" to settle the eggs underneath her and is now setting on them all with that far-away glazed broody stare on her face. I expect the eggs to hatch March 7.
By the way, this hen got her name because when she was a tiny new chick she looked like the white fluffy end of a Q-tip swab. She's a pretty white-feathered little mixed-breed banty hen today, and a good broody & mama hen too.
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