I had my first hen go broody on me. She hid a nest in the chicken coop and managed to lay 10 eggs before I found them. We don't have a Rooster so of course the eggs weren't fertilized. Therefore, I had to take them away. They were unusable because they had froze and the shells cracked leaving it easy for bacteria to become present. I felt horrible taking the eggs away from her and she certainly didn't make me feel any better about it. She ran around that coop squawking and searching for them for almost 2 days.
In case you don't know, a broody hen is one who feels in the need to have babies.She will continue to lay eggs until she has about ten and then she will stop laying. At this point, she feels she has a large enough clutch (or group of eggs), and begin incubating the eggs. Nature has designed it so that all of the eggs will hatch at the same time, even though they were layed over several days.
We are now averaging about 2 eggs a day but pretty soon we should be up to about 10 eggs a day! Be sure to keep up with the egg counter that I have started. It is on the left side of this blog!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
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I am your newest follower hopping over from Bloggy Moms. Please follow me at grandmasamazingjourney.blogspot.com
when my girls go broody....we call them little terrorists! lovely gentle placid hens get "that" look in their eyes that says "i don't care how much i loved you yesterday, iffa you toucha my eggs today, you are toast!" lol
i've enjoyed visiting your blog, when you get a chance, check mine out....there's a great giveaway for a yummy soy candle going on right now!
We have chickens too, loved reading this part of your blog. You can read my blog at thywordisalamptomyfeet.blogspot.com
Enjoyed hearing about your chickens!
Jill
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