Well, I gave it a shot yesterday afternoon. Opened the door, Mom shot out with the rest of the flock, with one chick who was with her tagging along. The flock zipped of to their favorite spot at the creek and Mom stayed right near the run door. The other five chicks then had no idea how to get...
Can someone give me an idea, when it will be reasonably safe to let Ma take the kids out of the run to forage? Pretty sure if I open the gate right now, they would be out like a shot with the rest of the flock.
Well, at lunch time today they made my decision for me. Between Ma going T-Rex on the barricades and trying to dig her way to China, the little ones are free to roam with no stopping them. So I figured I might as well surender and open the gate.
So far, so good.
Everyone else is behaving fairly...
This is Galoot. A big boy, with a wonderful nature. On Monday he became a Dad to six chicks and I would love to finally know what he is. Goofy in the background is the same breed for sure. A large hen with a very placid, somewhat timid disposition.
Nearest thing I have seen, while looking at...
The final count is in. Mama spent the afternoon out with her brood and then settled in to the space in the corner next to the nest. That allowed me to do some yoga and get the remaining eggs and debris out of the nest. (debris in pics). Remaining eggs were all duds. Candled them and nothing...
So, today I woke from my siesta, to find Spindly out and about with six chicks.
Will see how things go from there. A question I have. There are still six eggs in the nest. Will it be okay for her to be off them for a short while. It is humid here, since we just had rains and the temperature is...
If she leaves eggs behind, I will likely do something nuts, like a plastic washtub with old damp toweling and a few mason jars filled with hot water, for the eggs to snuggle with. Better than abandoning all hope.
My update as promised.
Spindly on the nest with no movement.There are about a dozen eggs in there! Steadfast. Has signs she has visited the food bowl and water dispenser. Other than that, she just casts a beady eye at me.
Everyone else locked out as they don't have an angle grinder. Scary...
Well, I went with the cordon off plan. Using various bric a brac, I enclosed that section, with her own water dispenser and a food bowl. Was still busy at it, when Henrietta deigned to notice there are two other nests and hopped in one. Hopefully that idea will catch on.
Thanks for the replies...
She seems like my Henrietta. Just covering her position as queen. Sadly, we must realize that they are very real with one another. They do not pull their punches and the best you can do is rescue someone if things get ugly. Hope you get a great outcome.
Folks in my family have been inclined to a fault in letting someone know we are leaving. In the eighties, my grandpa's uncle came to say goodbye. Scared me witless.
About three days ago, Spindly decided she wants to be a Mom. This happened with the days catch of three eggs. (I have four young hens). Noticing that she was on nest all day, I reacted quickly and place the last six eggs I took under her. (max 16 hours after she went hot).
I got a glimpse of...