Another patient Mama Hen
Just hatched! This mummy started with 10 eggs. We had to candle them and give her only the good ones to finish off the brood. So glad it worked.
The longer story is that this pair of Old English Red Pyle Bantams are a bit small for the flock of standard hens they’ve been living with. This smallest of all our hens decided to go into the wild and nest under a bush. She’d come every day to the back door for some food and water, then disappear again. Finally I followed her and saw her nest and her greedy pile of eggs. We wanted to reduce the number she was sitting on because it was too many for her to effectively hatch, but how not to upset her? I was able to go over while she was on a food visit and swipe some eggs.
These babies must have hatched yesterday, because they are mobile today and have already been moved about 30’ from the nest. Mama brought them over toward our back door for breakfast.
6.20.10 Poor thing! Later the next day, Rudi lifted the gate off its hinges in order to get at the chickies. He killed three babies. At least the one remains. Mama and one baby are ranging around in the wild mostly. We put them in a crate for safety, but last night they opted for sleeping under the stars. This makes the dog-outside-the-fence dynamic a little trickier.