My Bantam Cochins went broody! Stealing each other's eggs, read!

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Aw, she sounds like a really good lil' mommy!!!! How many eggs is she sett'in on?

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Well, I went into the bathroom about an hour ago to use it, and she was perched on my sink with her head hanging down over the box, and she looked at the eggs right away when the light came on, but didn't get up to go to them. I peeked and there looks to be 4 bantam eggs and a duck egg. I didn't see the other standard egg, so maybe she rolled it out of the way? I'll have to check in the morning. With some coaxing and petting she reluctantly went to sit on her eggs. There is no light whatsoever in the bathroom, so she won't get up off them during the night I don't think. But I'll be checking again in a few when I go to brush my teeth. If she continues this behavior I'll have to send her back downstairs and put the eggs in the bator. Hopefully something will come of it. She is so sweet. So much for broodies being mean and overprotective, mine seem to be turning into big mushy love bugs! Lol! But I'm not going to say that they will ALL be like that. My duck sure isn't a love bug! Lol! She turns into a drill sergeant! But I'll watch her over the next 24 hours or, and I'll also see how the my other broodies are doing. Maybe since this is their first time going broody they are still trying to get the hang of things. I also have to figure out which standard breeds go broody, cause I think my Black Australorp hen is starting to act like she might want to go broody. When my kids went to collect eggs last week, she hissed and tried to peck my daughter, and she is usually one to run away. But my daughter snagged the egg, and she hasn't acted like that since, so I don't know. It's all a new learning experience for me, but I'm loving every minute of it! I'll keep updating. Wouldn't it be funny if all my little banty hens went broody? There are like 15 in there! Lol!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I came pretty close to all my Buff Opingtons going broody last year! LOL My EE hen Julia puffed up this morning when my BO hen tryed to steal her nest, but she wasn't broody cause she layed her egg and left. But I mean she was REALLY PUFFED UP!!! So I dunno what her deal was!

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Well, it looks like I have at least 3 hens toying with being broody, and a broody duck. Pooty was getting tossed around by a rooster, so my daughter brought her inside and into the bathroom and put her with Dora. Well, I guess Dora decided she didn't want to lay on those eggs anymore, there was too much to explore. I set Pooty on them, and she sat on them for awhile, but then she went to explore with Dora. I examined the eggs (which are now up to 7!) and one had a crack, from a beak it looks like, so there are 6 good eggs, 5 banty, 1 duck. I think I am just going to gather them up and put them in the bator, and move the girls back down with the rest of the crew. Apparently Marion the duck laid another egg, but my Splash Cochin Lizzy, who was in the earlier pictures, she stole the egg from Marion. Drama, drama, and MORE drama! But the girls are staying sweet as apple pie, so it's not all bad. I want to hatch the eggs out, whether they do the work, or I do. Those chicks should be precious! My Silkie mix is looking like she's about ready to lay her first egg, and go broody at the same time too. Unless she's been lying to me this whole time and already laid an egg. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what hatches out!

Pooty with the eggs:

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Good luck with the eggs in the bator!!!

 

[lcw]

very cute cochins

 

[specklesmom]

They are all so sweet!! Love the photos and the drama as life with chickens continues!!! Pooty is such a doll, looking back over her shoulder while she is sitting on the eggs!!

 

[Sissy]

Cochins, are the best.

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Well, with the other birds, they were all continuing to squabble over who was going to get the eggs, and no one wanted to share, so my daughter went down, collected the eggs which consisted of two more bantam eggs, and another duck egg, so now I am up to ten eggs, 8 bantam, and 2 duck eggs. Dora and Pooty are no suddenly uninterested in sitting on the eggs, so I collected all of them and set them in an egg carton until I clear old eggs that didn't hatch out of the bator. I'm debating on whether I want to incubate the duck eggs. I really don't want more Mallards. Don't get me wrong, I love Jesse and Marion, but I don't want more of that breed. I'd rather have a breed that is friendlier. My kids are begging me to incubate them though. My concern is that I won't be able to find a good home for them later, especially if they are drakes! So I have a good 24 hours to decide whether they are tomorrow's breakfast, or whether they are going into the incubator.

The little banty eggs are soooooooooo cute though! I have brown ones and white ones, and I don't know how that is considering only my Cochins are laying at the moment, and I only have brown egg layers. I don't think my d'Uccle hen is laying at all yet. Here is a picture of the eggs beforemy daughter brought up the ones from the other birds, and before I gathered them up:

Question, do different colored Cochins lay different colored eggs?

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Aw, the eggs are so cute!!! I would incubate the duck eggs, then if they're drakes ...