11 hens and 4 roos, (2 were mature), and a dog got in our pen. One injured hen laid her last egg then immediately died. Our #1 rooster was wounded and almost died but returned to action as well as one hen. One juvenile roo died along with the hen that laid her last egg, leaving us 10 hens and 3 roos.
Our other juvenile roo turned mean so I had to kill him (and eat him). Well, the day after killing the mean roo, not only did peace return, but the two young ones came down from the second floor of the coop for the first time, and a hen went broody and is still on her egg.
We had previously stopped hatching but decided that we HAD to hatch one more round of eggs, hoping that the laid egg by the now gone hen might beat the odds and not only be fertile but maybe even hatch.
Today she pipped at 4:00 pm and zipped and was out by the time we got home at 9:00 pm. Out of 9 eggs she was the first to pip and I think her zipping out was pretty darn quick. She is exercising herself like a warrior.
So there you have it. Death, survival, and the birth of a last laid egg by a dying mother hen. It just does not get any better.
Our other juvenile roo turned mean so I had to kill him (and eat him). Well, the day after killing the mean roo, not only did peace return, but the two young ones came down from the second floor of the coop for the first time, and a hen went broody and is still on her egg.
We had previously stopped hatching but decided that we HAD to hatch one more round of eggs, hoping that the laid egg by the now gone hen might beat the odds and not only be fertile but maybe even hatch.
Today she pipped at 4:00 pm and zipped and was out by the time we got home at 9:00 pm. Out of 9 eggs she was the first to pip and I think her zipping out was pretty darn quick. She is exercising herself like a warrior.
So there you have it. Death, survival, and the birth of a last laid egg by a dying mother hen. It just does not get any better.
