June 10th our girl was sitting on eggs.
That same night…Billy took our other girl to the neighbor’s coop so she would be safe and be around some friends.
Our girl continued sitting on eggs. Billy had worked hard to seal up any spots he could find where the predators apparently had been entering.
I set the live trap….in hopes of finding out what had been bothering our girls.
Only for the creature to toss my flowers out of the window box……
The big rock by the rocking chair was in the flower box, weighing down the artificial flowers. Whatever is digging around is pretty strong.
My vote is still a raccoon. But we may never know….because even to this day….I haven’t been able to lure it into my trap. I have tried…an egg…cat food….and peanut butter.
NOTHING….
But, I am NOT giving up.
We cleared about a 4 foot space away from the fence line so the creature that is lurking in the brush can be seen more easily.
We also found some coated chicken wire that came from a commercial poultry farm. It doesn’t rust like the other and is sturdier. It is attached to our existing fence, filling in the gaps. It is also laid in such a way that it should help prevent creatures from being able to dig under the fence.
There are still some places we are working on…but all in all it seems to be more secure. The one thing I have learned is….if the predator wants in bad enough…..it will probably find a way.
I could see our other girl from the road when I would head to the farm to feed Laverne. She seemed just fine. Our neighbors said she fit right in….there wasn’t any fighting among the hens…so that was good news. They did say that whenever I would drive by on the 4 wheeler she would run to the gate. That is what all our girls used to do whenever I arrived at the coop, if they were in the yard. It made me miss my girls all the more.
Billy came in one day with that look.
I hate to tell you….BUT.
Yes, something had gotten our girl in the neighbor’s coop. She was the only one. Whatever it was didn’t bother any of their girls…..just ours.
We were heart broken.
I continued to check on the last one we had in our coop…..sitting on her eggs. I will have to tell you that I dreaded opening the coop door each morning. I was so afraid something was going to happen to her too. I tried to just…. be prepared.
All we could do….was wait.
June 20th I noticed a broken egg in the nest…..
I was so excited!!!! BUT I didn’t want to get too excited because I couldn’t hear any cheeping or is it chirping? I began to wonder if possibly the egg wasn’t fertile and maybe she had opened it herself…? I didn’t know…this was our first time going through this.
Each day I stood quietly….trying to hear….something….anything….but NOPE.
June 26th…..Mama was making a little noise when I entered the coop…..then I heard the peeping!!!!
WOO….HOO…. we had a baby….we really, really had a baby!!!!!
I was so excited. I was snapping pictures right and left. I suppose the other one didn’t want to get left out of the photo session….because all of a sudden….there was baby number two!
How exciting!!!
How sweet is that?!?!?!?!
My niece came to visit me for a few days….so we went to pick out some new hens.
We decided to get a few babies too, thinking they could all hang out together. They were just a little older…and they are not buffs either.
We picked out 8 hens and 5 babies. That would give us 9 hens counting the Mama we already had and 7 babies counting the 2 new ones that had just hatched.
They are all different kinds. I am hoping that we will be able to name them and be able to tell them apart now.
Just as I suspected….babies are frail. We already lost one of the hatched babies….and two of the ones I bought.
BUT….
Mama…which my niece and I named Maggie Mae and her other baby are doing well. Not knowing if the babies are boy’s or girls…we will have to wait on their names.
It is sweet to watch Maggie Mae interact with her chick. She isn’t roosting on the bar at night as far as I know. She has moved to the floor….into a corner.
She tucks baby away so that it is nice and warm….and protects it as best she can.
They ventured outside the other day….first time in over three weeks for Maggie Mae. She was devoted to hatching those eggs. She gave herself a dust bath and really seemed to enjoy being back outdoors.
Each morning she waits until all the other hens exit the coop….then she brings her baby out with her.
Here is a quick clip of them outdoors this morning.
I am keeping the other babies in a cage. Seems like the bigger hens were eating all their food and intimidating them. They would stand in a corner…peeping their little hearts out. They seem much calmer in the cage….I suppose it is their security. Maybe Maggie Mae will eventually watch out for them too.
I take the cage in and out each day so they can enjoy the fresh air.
I tried putting Maggie Mae and her baby in the cage for their protection….but the new baby is so small it could walk right through the cage openings.
I will just have to let them do what comes naturally. Hopefully…all will be well.
They sure were enjoying life this morning!
It is sweeeeet…..so very sweet.
I've Gone Country 