Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Exploding Eggs

Be careful.... peacock eggs as I'm sure chicken or any other kind of egg can EXPLODE. It happened to me and it wasn't much fun.

I've set 9 peafowl eggs under 3 different chickens. Three eggs each. That was about as much as I thought the poor little Cochin hens could sit on, the eggs are so much bigger than their own.

Well after almost 28 days, I thought I better look under this hen. Reached in under and to feel for the eggs and POP...wet gooey stinky mess all over my hand, the bottom of the hen and the other egg that was still there.

This hen went broody early, so she got the first couple of eggs the peahens laid. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at candling, so I couldn't tell if they were fertile. They obviously were not. After cooking under that hen (99 degrees) for almost a month I'm surprised it wasn't worse or smellier. Tossed the last egg (another ticking time bomb), cleaned up the hen and cleaned out her next box and she's right back in ready to sit on a golf ball if I had one to put under her.

Only thing funnier than peafowl... are chickens. Hope the other hens hatch some chicks in the next couple days.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Expect Lots of Chicks this year

I haven't posted in a while and not much has happened with my small flock. I have added chickens to my backyard menagerie. While I've loved the eggs they've produced, they are finally doing the chore they were purchased to do. I have 3 sometimes 4 Cochin hens sitting on 3 nest each with 3 peacock eggs. Pretty funny looking when 2 hens are trying to sit in the same nest box. They actually sit on top of each other.

Hope to have plenty of chicks this year.

Currently have one male (last years hatching) for sale. He's a very tame India Blue (split to Cameo). I'll post a picture of him soon. He's got a twin brother, but I need to keep one of them.

Email me at bdaugherty57@gmail.com if you're interested.