Is this the real thing?

[DebbieLynn]

Quote:
Thanks, I'm not sure what she is other than a bantam! The color is almost lavender, but she also has splotches of white and dark blue/black. She was one of my TSC impulse buys! And yes she means business.

 

[chickenlittle32]

The color is considered splash...

 

[evonne]

aaww... she's a very pretty little girl.. good luck to her and you

 

[M To The Maxx]

You have a broody!

 

[Mahonri]

Put some fertile eggs under her and keep us updated.

BTW... try and keep the other hens out of that nest if possible. They can mess things up for you.

 

[rghornbeck]

She's got that dreamy, in-her-own world look that marks a broody hen. Have fun!

As several other folks have observed, you can't block her off, but DO NOT try to leave her in the coop with the other hens, unless you want to stand watch 24 hours a day. What happens is that when she gets off the nest for a few minutes each day, there is a good chance that one of the other hens will go sit on her clutch. Then the broody hen gets disoriented and goes and sits somewhere else. Then when the other hen leaves the clutch, the eggs will get too cool and die. That exact scenario occurred with me the very first time I had a
broody hen. The eggs were developing beautifully, but one day I came home and found her in the wrong nest box. The day had been chilly and about a week's worth of her time went up in smoke. Luckily I was able to move her with a new set of eggs and she made it through. But it can be hard on a hen to sit for 28 or 29 days and some will give up before that time.

I can tell you of a very simple separate nesting arrangement which has worked well for me. Buy a card-table type table (the kind with folding legs) -- I bought mine at WalMart. Set it up inverted with the table part on the bottom. Use Cardboard to completely make a "box" around the legs, using sturdy Ductape or packing tape. You can place a nest box within that. That will give her privacy and enough room to get out and drink and eat and pass waste each day. With my bantams, they've been perfectly content in about that size box for even several weeks after the chicks hatch. It might get a little claustrophobic for a big hen with a big clutch, but can still work until the chicks hatch and you have something more permanent arranged,

Good luck!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
Thanks, I'm not sure what she is other than a bantam! The color is almost lavender, but she also has splotches of white and dark blue/black. She was one of my TSC impulse buys! And yes she means business.

She is an adorable Splash Rosecomb. Rosecombs do not have a large fowl counterpart.

 

[DebbieLynn]

Okay, after checking this morning she decided (or as previously posted) got up and moved to the nest box beside her. She had left the eggs she started with but it wasn't that long so I just put the two bantam eggs under and she had I think three LF eggs that had just been laid

She has since been moved to a broody pen with her own food, water and none of the other girls can get to her. I hope she doesn't give up. She didn't even screech at me when I moved her tonight! I'll try to post some pics tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for the advice! You guys are terrific!

 

[DebbieLynn]

Well she was up this am to eat and drink and fussed at me for a couple of minutes, then back on the nest. She has 2 LF eggs and 2 bantam eggs. Seems to be comfortable with being in one of my areas I use for brooding chicks. By the way this little gal doesn't have a name, any suggestions? We have been calling her "one of the twins" cause I have another girl similar to her but she isn't splash and has a different comb. You know, the same but different!

 

[evonne]

she looks like a stormy to me... don't know why... but the color on her makes me thing of a snowstorm...