My D'uccle hen has a external pip, but I think it may have died
. I was checking on the eggs and found one with a bit of beak out and some dried fuzz around the hole. I tapped the beak and it didn't move. I left it with her in case. Meanwhile, my barred rock that was broody earlier this year is broody again but now I don't have fertile eggs any more. So I took three of the d'uccle's eggs and gave them to the Barred rock. The d'uccle was sitting on lf eggs and I was worried that she wouldn't be able to cover them all in a week since chicks grow so fast but with only two, she should be able to keep two warm till their feathers grow in (provided they both hatch).
If the eggs hatch, the bantam can have a couple of chicks and the barred rock can have 3 more to take care of this year (if she'll accept a 3 day broody spell instead of a 3 week brood spell).
CG
Well, never mind about the Barred Rock. I guess she decided that she didn't want to be a mama again this year after all. So I gave the 3 eggs back to the d'uccle, and now there are two of them in the nest box. I guess her sister is keeping her company while in "labor".
Hopefully a couple of eggs hatch and they are pullets (but won't know that for at least 3 - 6 weeks from now) because I'm needing eggs...I told co-workers about my farm fresh eggs and now I can barely keep up with the requests. If the two d'uccles are broody, I'm not getting any eggs for me (I was eating the bantam eggs and selling the large eggs).
CG
