Both Gold and Storm went broody together five days ago. I just kept them out of the nest boxes and after a couple of days they were over it.
Sugar laid egg number seven four days ago and it was the third one that had a soft patch and a bit of crazing on the shell. To my surprise she still wasn’t broody at this stage.
Then an odd thing happened. Cloud came back into lay the next day which I wasn’t expecting. Sugar was missing and when I checked Sugar was sitting on Cloud’s egg. Sugar had gone broody but it’s the first time she has gone broody when it hasn’t been straight after laying her own egg. It seemed that seeing Cloud’s egg triggered her into going broody.
The other odd thing is that Sugar isn’t as committed as she usually is. I found that if I kept removing her from the chicken shed she would stay out for a few hours before returning. Also at bedtime whereas she wouldn’t usually stay on a perch I found that as long as I returned her to a perch at dusk she would stay there.
This means I don’t feel the need to put Sugar in the broody crate. I am keeping the nest boxes closed as both Dot and Cloud lay in the chicken shed anyway. I am removing Sugar from the chicken shed several times a day and am perching her at bedtime. I am hopeful that this will be enough to deter her after a while.
Cloud’s first two eggs on the left, she has laid a third one today. Dot’s two eggs on the right and she has also laid again today. We have been quite lucky that each time some girls stop laying another girl starts.
When I lift Sugar from the chicken shed she will scratch and dust bath then return to sitting like this and then eventually return to the chicken shed.
Mango is moulting much more than Cloud so I don’t expect her to come back into lay. When I pick her up she feels full of pins.
Autumn is now five and a half months old and over the last week her face has turned red. I think she may start laying soon. It may be that as the rest of the girls stop laying for winter Autumn starts laying. This would be really good to keep some eggs coming over winter.
Despite a bit of moulting the girls are looking good. It’s just Cloud and Dot keeping us going with eggs at the moment but any eggs are gratefully received.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
It is good that you get eggs when you don’t expect them. I suppose that, at least the broodiness has meant that Sugar has stopped laying again (and maybe for the season!)
It’s lovely to have some unexpected eggs. It would be good if that was it for Sugar this year but last year she laid until the end of October. Things are changing with her though so you never know.
Good to hear all is going well, and some bonus eggs you were not expecting.
They are just keeping us going and we haven’t had to buy any yet. We had poached eggs for breakfast this morning as I could see there would still be enough for the weekend breakfasts.
They’re all looking good Carol!
xx
Considering it’s the beginning of moulting they actually do look pretty good xx