That is rough but kudos to you for stepping up and helping family. It is not easy to handle that responsibility.
I am so glad he came home. How stressful.It's been a very busy and stressful day today. My old boy went missing when outside was buzzing with activity.
(Him covered in goat yogurt)
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Roof guttering being temporarily repaired a raised bed being built and hosing down of the pathway. I looked at my first chance and he had disappeared, someone had left the gate open.
All my worst nightmares was skidding through my head at 2000 miles an hour
He came back to my neighbor's garden, my gardener found him.
What was so comforting when people heard me calling they immediately started too search without being asked, a sweet woman heard me from her bathroom and got into her car and another guy I didn't even know, started searching in his van.
I got to the church and a local councillor put the word out then told me to let people know at our local shop. He's really well known there.
Meanwhile two ladies were on their mobiles about to put his face all over the internet. It was at that point I got a call telling me that he was home safe
He was then locked inside my gate with my gardener keeping a very close eye on him.
Wherever he had been he saved a nice big poop for my freshly mowed garden. So double relief for both of us
Here he is snoring without a care in the world.
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Lovely.
You go try that, and let me know how it works out for ya! I'm covered in BBQ sauce, (I'm grilling a steak )I thought it was rather a good idea, smothering theirselves in dinosaur pee. That would put the old dino off the trail
No frizzles?What to do.....What to do.....What to do.....
Thank You @RebeccaBoyd for the advice on closing off the nest box. I am actually considering closing off the entire end of the coop. I can then provide food, water, and a place to dustbathe all her own. They could all use Nest box #3 to lay their eggs. I can staple up some chicken wire to segregate Phyllis off. The only downside to that is that Phyllis would be stuck in the coop itself for the duration. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?
Actions Which I Have Taken
I simply do not feel good enough about Phyllis being a reliable broody to get eggs for her to hatch. Therefore I had started watching the available chick supply. When I started looking yesterday there were maybe 10 Polish chicks available through the end of September. When I check this morning there were maybe 5. Only 2 within a date range that would line up with Phyllis in any way at all. So I bought them. On Aug 3rd, one of each of these will be arriving.
Buff Laced Polish
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White Crested Black Polish
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This left me with another issue. It is a 3 bird minimum for shipping. Chicken math is a real problem!
There were no other Polish available on that date. I was stuck. What to do for a third bird?
I thought.....
- I need a smaller bird like the Polish
- If it had weird head feathers that would help it to fit in
- What is available on that ship date, not a lot........
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A Frost White Legbar!
I am taking one more run at the elusive blue egg. Plus, I am going to have another white chicken very similar to my dear white leghorns.
They will arrive 25 days from when Phyllis started. Hopefully she will still be broody at that time, I can slip them under her at night, and she will accept them as her own. One of them will sure look like her.
I have not tried the slip in at night since I was a young lad on the farm. Hopefully Phyllis is as accepting as Speck was. If not, then Rose and I will be raising some chicks again. At least this time we will be able to raise them out in the run once the new coop is done and not have to keep them in the house for weeks.
This is how I am interpreting what the universe has told me to do. It is full of compromises everywhere. Ifs and thens are all over this plan. I am very apprehensive that I have missed something but the real failsafe is that no matter what, Rose and I can raise the chicks if I have no broody. I could have had a real disaster if I went with fertile eggs and Phyllis gave up the ghost.
What does everyone think?
It sounds like a workable compromise. I know how you love chicks so 
this works out. However I thought only the cream Legbar lays blue eggs??? Everyone else lays cream or white. Maybe I've remembered wrong.
I remember that! You did battle, and they were psychotic!Bob will get it. He sniggered all through our summer while I battled determined broody bantams who were absolutely psychotic!
