As promised, here is an update on Broody the hen. Actually this happened last week but I have not had a chance to share it.
Last Sunday night, after all the hens were back in the chicken tractor, and we were getting ready for bed, I heard screaming and almost crying sounds coming from the kitchen. I ran down to find Erica and Ronnie holding something in their hands and everyone jumping all around them in excitement.
In a one last look for the night, check on Broody, they discovered two newborn chicks. One chirping loudly and another looking kind of strange with half an egg shell still stuck to its head and not moving very much. As soon as I looked at the poor little chick cupped in Ronnie’s hands I knew it was not good! The chick could not pick up its head as if its neck was broken. How do I tell my precious Ronnie, lover of all chickens, that her chick (she had claimed it after all) would most probably not make it.
We pulled out the chick brooder, filled the feeder with chick feed and put in the waterer, gave them some toweling to snuggle up in under the heat lamp and watched them for a few minutes. Erica’s chick was eating and wobbling to and fro. While the sick little chick, dragged itself around unable to open its eyes or lift its head. It was also getting stepped on by the healthy chick. I had a talk with Ronnie and reminded her that this is part of our life on the farm and we decided she would hold it close to her chest and keep it warm and comfortable until it passed. In a few hours, it was done.
The next couple of days we waited to see if any others would hatch but after 3 days of being a momma hen, I decided to buy Ronnie a chick at the feed store which was also 4 days old and now they are a pair and I am up every few hours to turn on and off the heat lamp and make sure they are OK…farm life!
Broody is still sitting on the eggs but I will give her another few days and then we will take the remaining eggs and dispose of them and put her outside where she can cool off and get back to her normal non-broody self.
I realized last night that I posted Thursdays Stash Bash on Wednesday…yeah that is how fried my pregnancy brain is. Next week, it shall be on the correct day.
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