Devonviolet Acres

[Mini Horses]

That hen is beautiful!! I sure hope she hatches them out well for you. Sounds like she's pretty "serious".

 

[Devonviolet]

Pretty but none too bright making her nest outside the safe area
How soon to hatch?

Hmmm, I could have sworn I answered this.

Anyway, our little hen is quite safe. Their run is 16x16x7’ and is totally encased with 2x4 welded wire. The walls are 6’ wire, topped with a foot of chicken wire. DH is 6’4” with his farm boots on, so we needed 7’ so he could walk comfortably. The “roof” of the run is 2x4 welded wire. There is also 2 feet of chicken wire around the entire bottom of the run.

We had been concerned about rat snakes taking eggs out of the nest, like they seem to do with our broody turkey hen (setting on duck eggs), in the coop. However, the drake seems to be very protective of his girls, and so far, none of the eggs have been bothered.

Funny story about trying to keep snakes out of the nest. DH decided to put a couple of our ceramic eggs out in the open, so if a snake came along, it would swallow the fake egg and wouldn’t be able to eat our duck eggs. Well, we have since learned that the snakes will regurgitate a fake egg, so it wouldn’t have stopped them for very long.

The funny thing about it was . . . Every morning, our little Muscovy hen had rolled the fake eggs into her nest. She must have thought they were hers and she was determined to get them back into the nest.

 

[HomeOnTheRange]

Really like how you build things! Very neat and functional.

 

[Devonviolet]

Really like how you build things! Very neat and functional.

Thanks HOTR! I try to think each project through, to make it most efficient, so I don't have to spend time rebuilding it later.

The next project I'm looking forward to, is a greenhouse, so we can do aquaponics. That's going to have to wait 'till late Fall, though, because we have so many other projects going (like farmers market every Saturday).

 

[goatgurl]

 

[Devonviolet]

Hey, goatgurl! To you too!

 

[Devonviolet]

A while back, we had some excitement in the hen house.

Edith (aka Edie), who goes broody every summer, was making a commotion in the coop, where she is sitting on two duck eggs. The dogs heard her, and started barking up a storm.

DH went out to see what the commotion was all about and called me, to let me know we had a rat snake in the coop. I went out, to see if I could help. But, Edie had it under control. She had the 7 foot snake by the mouth and was shaking it about. Occasionally, she would fly up, about half a foot, and swing the snake about.

Eventually (after about 20 minutes of this), DH helped her out, by pounding its head with a hoe. He then flipped it out of the coop, into the chicken yard. Of course Edie followed him out and tried to get the snake away from him. He let her have it for a few more minutes, and then flipped it over the six foot fence. She was not happy!!!

A litttle while later, DH had gone to the feed shed, to get some chicken scratch to toss to the birds. Edie followed him into the feed shed and attacked his legs. He wears tall farm boots, so she didn’t hurt him, but he definitely got the message . . . “You took my snake away from me!!!!!”

Then at feeding time, DH was in the back run, feeding the Muscovies. Hen 1 had gotten off her nest and he could see that she had a lot fewer eggs. He counted and she was down to 9 eggs, from 19 eggs. Apparently, that rat snake had visited her nest before he went into the coop to try to get Edie’s eggs.

Hen 2 had started laying eggs, in a different nest, few days before that. Those eggs were fine.

It’s been 10 days since the snake got eggs out of nest 1. Hen 1 got off her nest last night, and she still has 9 eggs.

Hen 2 is now sitting on her nest, which has 11 eggs, so we have a total of 20 eggs being set on by our two Muscovy hens. For enquiring minds, that want to know, if I calculated correctly, the eggs on nest 1 should hatch somewhere around August 18th. If hen 2 is truly setting on her nest now, eggs on nest 2 should be hatching sometime around September 6th.

DH has been working on the wiring in the barn, so we can do heat lamps and ceiling fans, in the stalls, for ducklings and chicks. He finally finished it late yesterday afternoon. He was too tired to do any more yesterday. So, tonight (after dark) we will move the Muscovies and the nests to one of the stalls, so we don’t lose anymore eggs and also so the ducklings are safe when they hatch.

I also ordered chicks and Guinea keets, which we plan to put in the other 8x8’ stall. The Guineas are due to arrive today, and the chicks are due to arrive next Wed. So, we will be overrun by chicks and ducklings.

This time, I ordered roosters, so in the future, hopefully we will have some broody hens, and I will just let the hens hatch their eggs

 

[Baymule]

Go Edith! What a champion! Chickens and ducks just sit there like dummies and let snakes eat up their eggs and babies. Maybe we all should have a broody turkey!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Wow - note to self....Don't mess with a broody turkey!

 

[CntryBoy777]

Sounds like there are wonderful little peepers in your future....ya should enjoy watching those guineas.....