My first broody hen *Iris*

[helmstead]

You can really see the resemblance in the head/face. He was just so beautiful. I couldn't ever get a picture of him to do him justice.

 

[rooster-red]

Kate I'll be setting a mixture of my mixed flocks eggs.
most will be from a barred rock roo as sire, with these hens:
Blue Andalusion, Buff Minorca, SS Hamburg, White Leghorn, Light brown Leghorn, Barred Rock, RIR & EE

Their ought to be some interesting mutts coming from this mix.

Going to let mother nature take its course with these, then I'm going to use my bator in late Feb. for another hatch. I'll be hatching RIR's then.

Thank you Cynthia for the pic of Hazels sire, he sure is pretty.

 

[speckledhen]

Um, Lee, did Iris happen to have a talk with my Ameraucana pullet, Silver? I found her in the nest box tonight at 10 p.m. clucking and puffing up and sitting tight on the nest. She never sleeps in the nest boxes and she's been running around clucking in her throat for days now. The ominous thing is that my other Ameraucana, Charlotte, has also been clucking during her daily jaunts. If they both go broody, I think I may just

 

[rooster-red]

Had a little setback this morning.

One of the eggs Iris was sitting on had a pin hole in it, and seeped egg goo all over her and the other eggs.

I had picked her up and poor girl had the remaining eggs stuck to her!

I cleaned the eggs, gave her a warm bath and blow dry, cleaned the nestbox too.

She's now sitting on a clutch of 9 eggs, as happy as broody hens ever get.

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, poor Iris! What a mess. If that didnt break her up, nothing will, LOL. My Silver hasn't gone over the edge yet; we were gone all day and due to high icy winds and snow and the off chance that we wouldnt make it back before dark, we kept the crew locked in all day. When I got back, Silver wasn't on the nest. Maybe she's just working up to it. Glad Iris got back on the nest after all that!

 

[rooster-red]

She's so spoiled...
I set her up with a small container of food in the nest and she nibbles a little here and there.

One of my RIR's just HAD to lay in the box Iris was on, so Iris moved to the next box until the other hen had layed, and now is sitting on that egg too!

I've never seen that before.

 

[rooster-red]

Now she has pulled all her tummy feathers out.

Guess that way more heat transfers to the eggs.

 

[speckledhen]

hehehe, good girl, Iris! Yep, my Buff Orp, Sunny, did that, too. And yes, it helps the body heat and humidity transfer to the eggs better. I can't believe you washed and blowdried that girl and she went back to sitting!

 

[rooster-red]

Well, its day 6 and I bought a new flaslight to candle the eggs, I couldn't wait until day 7, so I candled all 12 eggs.

1 has developed far enough that you can see blood in the veins and a black dot that looks like an eye.

2 others have veins

8 more had dark masses

1 looks like it wasn't fertile.

She would never move off the nest except to more about a foot away to poo.

I feed her in a small bowl in the nest and at lunchtime I pull the little growling beastie off the nest so she can drink and stretch her legs, and she never stays off the nest more than 15 minutes a day.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm tickled pink that Iris went broody. See, by you coming up to get those girls, I helped you have a new experience. Gotta love something that pretty that threatens to take your arm off, LOL!
Sounds like they're at different stages of development, though. Are they staggered?