The other Dorking hen went broody over the weekend!
It's all getting a bit complicated now, as we have eggs everywhere.
We have the original incubated hatch of 3 Sassos and 2 Ixworths, who are now 25 days old and are occupying the Eglu during the day, and a brooder pen overnight.
Under one of the Dorkings, we have three Silver Dorking eggs, which are due to hatch next Wednesday (9 September). Their henhouse is three feet off the ground, so we need to move mum and newly hatched chicks as soon as possible to new, temporary, house which we bought and installed near the original house.
In the Incubator, we have the Broody's original brown eggs (she's a Dorking cross) which unexpectedly turned out to be fertile (none of the eggs of either broody were fertile up to that point). We don't know when they are due to hatch, our best guess is today, tomorrow or Friday. When they have hatched they will move into the Lunar module for a week. Hopefully, by the time these are ready to leave theLunar Module, the first hatch chicks will be overnighting in the Eglu. And by the time they are ready to leave the Brooder, the First Hatchers will have moved to their permanent home on the allotment. DH just needs to build another coop for them, if we are planning on keeping them.
Also in the Incubator, we have three more Silver Dorking eggs, due the smore or less the ame time as those under the Broody and we intend to slip those chicks under the broody as soon as they have dried out. We've had to stop the auto turning of the incubator now that the Brown Eggs are due to hatch, so we're having to turn the Silver Dorking eggs manually for now.
And now we have one or two eggs under the other Broody, no idea if they are fertile or not. We'll check as soon as we've moved Mum1 out. Hopefuy the temporary broody house will be vacated by the time her chicks, if the eggs are fertile, are hatched.
It'll be fine. It'll just need a bit of organising. And it'll put us in good shape for breeding next year. We hope.
It's all getting a bit complicated now, as we have eggs everywhere.
We have the original incubated hatch of 3 Sassos and 2 Ixworths, who are now 25 days old and are occupying the Eglu during the day, and a brooder pen overnight.
Under one of the Dorkings, we have three Silver Dorking eggs, which are due to hatch next Wednesday (9 September). Their henhouse is three feet off the ground, so we need to move mum and newly hatched chicks as soon as possible to new, temporary, house which we bought and installed near the original house.
In the Incubator, we have the Broody's original brown eggs (she's a Dorking cross) which unexpectedly turned out to be fertile (none of the eggs of either broody were fertile up to that point). We don't know when they are due to hatch, our best guess is today, tomorrow or Friday. When they have hatched they will move into the Lunar module for a week. Hopefully, by the time these are ready to leave theLunar Module, the first hatch chicks will be overnighting in the Eglu. And by the time they are ready to leave the Brooder, the First Hatchers will have moved to their permanent home on the allotment. DH just needs to build another coop for them, if we are planning on keeping them.
Also in the Incubator, we have three more Silver Dorking eggs, due the smore or less the ame time as those under the Broody and we intend to slip those chicks under the broody as soon as they have dried out. We've had to stop the auto turning of the incubator now that the Brown Eggs are due to hatch, so we're having to turn the Silver Dorking eggs manually for now.
And now we have one or two eggs under the other Broody, no idea if they are fertile or not. We'll check as soon as we've moved Mum1 out. Hopefuy the temporary broody house will be vacated by the time her chicks, if the eggs are fertile, are hatched.
It'll be fine. It'll just need a bit of organising. And it'll put us in good shape for breeding next year. We hope.
