So... I have chickens sitting on eggs right now. Like 500 hens sitting on three nests. No, just 10 of them. On three nests. But it's still a lot.
Can you see the 4 hens on this nest?
The stupid things are crushing the babies. Because they don't have the sense to go to another nest and give the eggs room to hatch.
I have bruises all over my hands from these nasty wenches pecking at me as I'm trying to rescue the babies. So far I have 12 live babies and 4 dead. With a couple pecking their way out now. I'll go out in the morning and rescue the live ones. I put feed bags over the openings to the nest boxes, and removed 2 hens from each nest. Hopefully they'll have enough space now to spread out a bit. The nests were only designed to hold one hen at a time.
Grrr...
Then, my lovely neighbor down the hill bought a horse. To be his lawn mower. Because he has 4 mowers and not one of them works, he says. And of course, the horse is a MARE. Female. My quarter-horse stud is going to love her as he tears through the barbwire fence to introduce himself when she comes in heat.
Grrr.......
And you know what's great about these two problems? I don't have to deal with them this weekend. My wonderful hubby does. I'm going to The Dogwood Workshop in Ashland Ky.
Have a good weekend everybody. I'll be back Monday.
The stupid things are crushing the babies. Because they don't have the sense to go to another nest and give the eggs room to hatch.
I have bruises all over my hands from these nasty wenches pecking at me as I'm trying to rescue the babies. So far I have 12 live babies and 4 dead. With a couple pecking their way out now. I'll go out in the morning and rescue the live ones. I put feed bags over the openings to the nest boxes, and removed 2 hens from each nest. Hopefully they'll have enough space now to spread out a bit. The nests were only designed to hold one hen at a time.
Grrr...
Then, my lovely neighbor down the hill bought a horse. To be his lawn mower. Because he has 4 mowers and not one of them works, he says. And of course, the horse is a MARE. Female. My quarter-horse stud is going to love her as he tears through the barbwire fence to introduce himself when she comes in heat.
Grrr.......
And you know what's great about these two problems? I don't have to deal with them this weekend. My wonderful hubby does. I'm going to The Dogwood Workshop in Ashland Ky.
Have a good weekend everybody. I'll be back Monday.
Oh. My.
ReplyDeleteNow I see why you wanted to give away chickens...
I'll stick with my new baby kitty that comes home to mama tomorrow night!
Awe, come on. I'm up to 16 now. Giving a bunch to the sitter today, but they're hatching out by the HOUR!
ReplyDeleteJennifer, chickens (turkeys, too) are too stupid for their own good, but they sure do some funny things.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe your neighbor bought a horse to keep his lawn down. I haven't heard of anybody doing that in about, oh, fifty years! Good grief.
Have fun at the conference!
Jennifer, thank you for not bringing chickens to the Dogwood writing conference. It was so good to see you there! Hope the hubby coped all right in your absence.
ReplyDeleteDevon, you've lived in ky all this time and never seen a horse-mower? I'm amazed!
ReplyDeleteMagdalena, I enjoyed seeing you too, very much. All the animals, and the kids, were still alive when I got home, so he did phenomenal. He usually does.