Broody News

Well that time of year is upon us and India has gone broody again. She is currently covering 16 eggs and looking every inch the perfect mother. Although she has had a crafty nibble - apparently - at 2 eggs as she originally had 18 under her. They must have had weak shells or were duds. She is managing to cover them completely by flattening herself out to make sure she keeps them warm enough.  We lift her once a day to make sure she eats and gets the chance to go to the toilet so everything stays nice and clean. She will usually totter around making a nuisance of herself with the other hens and getting quite aggro with them all. They usually respond with a bit of a peck and a chase so I have to keep an eye on her. She is not normally the most friendly hen I have, but she is lovely when broody and I get to give her a cuddle as she appreciates being given sole access to some tasty food offerings to keep her strength up.  I have also put a load of eggs in the incubator to time them when her chicks hatch so she can perform mother duties to an extended brood.