Two days ago, i discovered one of our cross breed hans (hatched here from our speckled sussex hen and buff orpington roo) nestled into the hillside sitting on a clutch of eggs. I assumed they wouldnt hatch because some were half buried in the sand and others on the edge were cooler than those in the center.
Chores started as usual this morning, but quickly ended up being a bit altered due to...
....finding a hen parading around with twelve chicks!
Fortunately I ended up outside before Ginger cat saw them. Will and I set up the chicken tractor and scooped them up into their new home space. Then I went out to see how many eggs were left in the nest and to clean up the nest and found....
The same hen sitting on her clutch of eggs. So....one of this hens siblings had a secret nest somewhere else, and by the looks of the chicks many other hens contributed to the clutch.
The rooster is mostly Auracana so we could have some interesting colored eggs. :). And...potentially more chicks from the other hen still sitting on eggs. We also recently traded 18 old hens (plus some cash) for 18 pullets who will start laying at the end of September. We should have plenty of eggs for farmers market next summer. It is fun to have peeps even if they are unplanned. :)
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