Some do molt after being broody so it may take her a little longer to get back to laying you figure most of may she probably had the chicks under wing and then molt so it maybe end of June before you see an egg. Be patient she has been through alot.
great story and congratsOn page 1051 I was stressing out because 2 of Henrietta's peeping eggs had not hatched. You calmed me down and by morning one had pipped, and both were still cheeping - loudly. I was thrilled!
However a few hours later (a human crisis was happening simultaneously so I couldn't just sit there and stare at the new little family) Henrietta had decided that the 6 extremely lively chicks she already had were enough. She got up with them and left the two peeping eggs alone. When I found them they were cold. And yet one had a pip hole in it (NOT MADE BY ME!) and both were chirping.
I gathered the two cold eggs and brought them inside the house. I warmed them under my shirt and with warm towels, and as soon as Egg Seven, the pipped one, was warm, she made short work of zipping and pushing the shell off. I did not "help" her, having read what happens if you do that. She hatched in my hand!
It took her all day to dry, gently in warm towels.
In the meantime Egg Number 8 was still peeping loudly from inside her intact eggshell. I wrapped her in a warm washcloth and she managed to pip! I could see her little beak and of course the peeping was now even louder.
All day, while Number Seven dried, Number 8 peeped loudly, but she couldn't seem to get out of her shell. I didn't help her, other than keeping her warm.
Finally at dusk, I added the now dry Number 7 and the peeping egg to Henrietta who was just starting to settle down with her original 6 kids.
To my horror Henrietta felt that egg and stood up. She immediately began "attacking" it, pecking the shell away from poor (still peeping) Number 8's body! I was sure she and the other chicks were going to eat the poor thing! I snatched her back and examined the damage.
Number 8 (now called "Lucky") was uninjured but what a mess. She was all slimy and bloody with a big yolk sac coming out from her tummy. Yikes! I had read not to put a chick with a visible egg sac in with the others, so once again I tried to keep this poor thing warm. I agonized it if would be more humane to put the poor dear out of its misery, but couldn't do it.
Half hour later it was full dark and Henrietta was totally settled down for the night with her 7 chicks. I didn't think I could keep Lucky warm all night without an incubator so I took a flashlight and gently tucked her into the warmest spot under Henrietta's belly.
In the morning (okay, it was 3 in the morning) here is what I found:
All soft and fluffed with no sign of the yolk sac and no sign that it had been pecked away by others. It took her a couple of days for her legs to strengthen, but now she is hard to tell from the others. So whew! A happy ending for Henrietta and her 8 chicks.
Number Seven is the sleepy chipmunk to the right of her Mama. Lucky is the little black head poking out from Henrietta's wing. And yes, there are only 7 in the photo. Little Loudie is underneath her. Still trying to think of a special name Number 7, who hatched in my hand.
What an enabler you are.
I love this story, what an awesome thing you did saving those 2 lil chicks, so glad it turned out the way it did, what a sweet family. Congrats !!!
yes I did, but I also know these Sumatra hens. They live to be broody. All they need most times is a pile of eggs to trigger them. After spending 3 years raising Sumatra's, I got to know them pretty well!
