The Chicken Project 2011
I'm looking after a friend's beautiful 2 year old while she's in town doing research for her PhD. Today I took her and my daughter to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, which is a favourite thing of ours to do.
We reached the farmyard section, feed the wonderfully rotund kunekune pigs and past by the chicken yards. It was there I noticed a sign, advertising fertile eggs for $2 each. We have a clucky hen at home and no rooster, so Iris and I thought we could put her lack of egg productivity to good use.
We purchased two chicken varieties: 2 Silkie eggs (laid on 11 Jan) and three Polish Bantams (laid on 5 and 9 Jan).
When we arrived home we ushered the broody hen, named Brabra, into the hen house and closed the door to keep the other birds (Icecream, Iceblock and Strawberry) out of the run. These three girls are great layers and we don't want them accidentally going on the cluck!
We left her there to, hopefully, discover the eggs and sit on them. She was clucky only a week ago and had even pulled all her tummy feathers out inorder to best warm the eggs laid by the other girls. She's desperate to be a mum, so we hope she'll be a good surrogate to this mixed brood.