Broody hens

Some of the hens are still laying eggs – but two of them have gone broody.  Mrs Brown is really good-natured and lets me move her anywhere but Honey is very bad-tempered and pecks me when I go near her.  I have moved them to a rabbit cage so the other hens don’t bother them.  Once the chicks are all hatched and big enough to hop about I move them to a bigger pen but with a shallow water bowl.  Baby ducklings can also drown if they can’t get out of a water bowl.

When there are young chicks about I always put a brick in the big water bowl so little ones can get out.  Dane was helping me just after Christmas last year.  We had a chick that hatched on Christmas Day so we called him Jesus (he later turned out to be a girl!).  Dane asked me why there was a brick in the water bowl and I answered:  “It’s so Jesus doesn’t drown.”  Dane replied:  “I thought Jesus could walk on water!”

(L to R) Snowflake, Doris and Dillon

(L to R) Snowflake, Doris and Dillon

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