Several weeks ago one of the hens was acting "broody" and nesting and not wanting to move from under the nesting box. So I decided I'd try letting her sit on a few fertilized eggs. With two roosters, I was hoping that most of the eggs would be fertilized and able to hatch. So I moved the hen over to the small A-frame chicken coop we have. At first I put some wooden eggs under her to see if she would sit on them. Later when I saw she was going to sit on them, I put five eggs under her. I don't think any of the eggs were actually hers.
She was a very diligent hen and sat faithfully on the eggs for three weeks. I set feed out for her everyday but I couldn't tell that she ate much, if anything. After two weeks, I began to worry about her. When I'd lift her up to check on the eggs, she felt very light.
Two of the eggs hatched quickly and on time with little black chicks. One egg hatched later but the chick never seemed to come out of the egg shell. Two of the eggs didn't hatch at all and I'd guess probably weren't fertilized. In the first day one of the black chicks died for some reason, not sure why.
So I was left with one little chick. I was feeling a little sad for it, all by itself.
Stay tuned. I've broken this up into several posts.
I'm mostly outside in the morning and evening when the shadows are longer. That's where I got the idea to take shadow selfies. The low sun makes some dramatic shadows.
I planted some kale this year in the hydroponics and it grew well. I decided the best way for us to use it was to make kale chips.
I washed and air dried it. Then chopped it in small pieces. I learned the center piece is a bit tough so cut that section out. Then I tossed it in a little olive oil and sprinkled salt and baked it for about 8-10 minutes until it was crispy and crunchy. I stored it in a plastic tub.
A couple of times it went a little soggy and chewy after a few days, so I just put it back in the oven for a few minutes until it was crispy again.
I think we decided kale is not our favorite and I probably won't plant it again.
And then here are a few random shots of my footwear.
I'm not a big fan of "selfies." I'm in the wrong generation for that. But I was encouraged to take more recently after I shared a few. And then there was the Layers post where I revealed all the crazy layers I wear when it's cold. I'm still not comfortable taking a full face one, so most of mine include backgrounds with chickens, goats, dogs and cows. I've also been taking some shadow selfies which I will share in another post. So here goes. These date back to February.
I am still fascinated with animal tracks. The best time to find them is right after it has rained and the ground is soft. I saw these tracks the other day walking out to feed the goats.
I'm pretty sure the first ones are deer tracks. And the second are coyote. I particularly liked the paw prints with the distinct claw holes.
