Hi both,
I sent you a thank you card yesterday Meghalegs - hopefully you'll get it today or tomorrow. The leg rings were quite funky weren't they - thanks very much for those .
You asked how it is going - are you ready for this? (long, protracted):
After installing chook into her own hen house on 1st May I lifted her down the next morning to encourage her to eat and drink and then went off to school. When I got back some substantial time later she was pacing up and down in the run and had not returned to her nest - the eggs had cooled and spoiled. Basically I think she was disorientated and didn't know how to return to her nest because she was in an alien unfamiliar hen house....(all the daft bugger had to do was climb back up the ramp)
So I moved her back with the others and discarded the eggs. She did however continue to demonstrate broody behaviour when back in her old hen house and wouldn't budge from the nesting box. So she and one of the other chooks laid an egg a piece and I got 5 fertilised eggs from a friend and set her off again on the Friday (2nd May?) with 7 eggs in total.
Well, periodically eggs got broken - I think because the other egg laying hen would barge into the nesting box to lay her egg and it's a bit of a squeeze for the broody hen plus one other!
Eventually I moved the other 2 hens into the 'new' hen house with the cockerel and left the broody in the old hen house (that she is familiar with and regards as home) to protect the broody and her eggs from intrusion and disturbance. This happened on around day 12 when she had 4 eggs left intact, and by day 16 she still had those 4 eggs intact
Then disaster (or my hopeless chump of a husband) stepped in. Last Sunday (day 17) he was on chicken duty in the morning whilst I went off for a run. It seems that he left the broody entirely cooped up in the hen house (with the draw bridge up - no access to food and water) all day. He was meant to lower the ramp but leave the run enclosed so the rest of the flock couldn't get into her....but he can be scatty.
Well this led to 2 other eggs getting broken (I am not sure whether just accidentally by the broody, or whether she was desperate for sustenance and ate them ) -but I was thoroughly cheesed off with 'h'.
She now has just 2 measly eggs left - it is day 20. I don't hold out much hope, the odds aren't great with just 2 are they?
Didn't candle the eggs - lacked the confidence to do this....
So I may get 2 chicks tomorrow, or more than likely, nowt!
Didn't realise it could be such a hit and miss business