This is Edith, one of my pekin bantams. Ever since I began keeping chickens, I have thought how lovely it would be to hatch a few chicks, our very own little pekins. So I have been waiting for one of my five girls to go broody and Edith has begun. She started sitting in the nest box whilst the other girls would wait at the door wanting to lay. I kept turfing her off, but within minutes she would be back tacking up her position reminiscent of a pancake on imaginary eggs. So I then moved her to a large empty rabbit hutch, set her up with food and water and a couple of non fertile eggs to see what would happen. She immediately took to those eggs and proceeded to sit tight. So then the hunt was on for some fertile hatching eggs. After searching through the chicken breeders online, I opted for a breeder I had visited when I was buying my chickens, I put my order in and a couple of days later very safely packaged the eggs arrived.
When eggs have gone through the postal system you have to leave them to rest point down for 12 to 24 hours. This done, I very carefully picked up a sleepy Edith and removed the dud eggs and replaced them with a mix of gold partridge and millifleur pekin eggs.Now the waiting begins. Hopefully in around 21 days we should hear the patter of tiny chick feet, fingers very tightly crossed.
Whilst waiting for eggs to arrive and then rest, I dug out my paper clay and set to work on a little doll. more pictures soon on her progress.
Whilst waiting for eggs to arrive and then rest, I dug out my paper clay and set to work on a little doll. more pictures soon on her progress.We had rain last night, first proper rain for weeks and more is forecast for today with the odd rumble and flash thrown in for good measure, the garden is very grateful.
Hope you are having a great weekend sun or rain, thank you for all your lovely comments, I love reading them. J x
Pekins make lovely broodies - so determined! It will be very exciting in 3 weeks time.
ReplyDeleteHow my garden wants rain - a mere dampess here, I can't call it 'rain'.
Celia
How exciting, I bet three weeks seems a long time at the moment!
ReplyDeleteI do hope we will see tiny chick pictures here soon. And yes, the heavy showers today were very welcome in my garden - but we need more!
ReplyDeleteEdith is so pretty! Now we are all very excited about the birth of the chickens.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child, I used to spend summers with my brother in the village of mum's aunt. She loved us very much and made our days full of different emotions that I keep deep in my heart. I remember a summer when she bought for us newborn chickens and we took care of them until they grew up.
I'm curious to see the process of creating your doll - she looks so tender!
Have a wonderful week with sunhine, not rain!:)
How exciting Joy. I bet you cannot wait. Good old Edith. I didn't realise that you could send fertile eggs through the post. Looking forward to seeing what you are creating with your paper clay.
ReplyDeleteHello from Yorkshire! Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment...and for introducing me to your lovely blog!!! I love the things you make....you are so talented. I am mad about hares for some reason and so I am particularly taken with the hare picture. Glad you are joining in with Pay it Forward xxx
ReplyDeleteForgot to say...please email me your address and I will send you the bookmark xx
ReplyDeleteI am very intrigued by the paper clay and your doll, I hope you show us more!
ReplyDeleteHi, Edith is gorgeous, will be keeping my fingers crossed for a successful hatch for you.
ReplyDeleteI notice you're an Attic 24 fan too, I've become completely addicted to crochet since I stumbled across her blog!
Sarah x