Mar
23
Written by:
Sherri
3/23/2010 8:38 PM
Sally, one of our Bantom hens, has been sitting on a clutch of eggs for almost 3 weeks now. Yesterday, she got moved to her own private special place so she won't be bothered by the other hens...who have no intention of being broody! She's got 4 bantom eggs under her and we're hoping most got fertilized so they will hatch. Sally is one of two Bantom hens who get broody, but she is the only one tough enough to fight the other hens off her nest, and the only Bantom hen who will stay on her eggs. Her first clutch of eggs produced 2 roosters, who have just started crowing and growing those lovely tail feathers. Hopefully no more roosters 
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Flower, our only female cat, is expecting kittens in about 2 more weeks. She is very dainty and petite, but is getting bigger and bigger every day. She comes around the kitchen side door twice a day to get special food scraps for her ever increasing appetite. Jonathan is very excited about this first batch, as Flower is his special cat. We're taking orders for kittens, so if you want one just let us know 
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Buttercup, our registered Mini-Jersey cow, is due to freshen in May. She dried herself up a few months ago so that her body can focus on extra nutrition for her growing calf. I don't see much of her nowadays, since she's out in the field munching away on our rapidly growing green spring grass. We are very much looking forward to milking Buttercup again, since she gives us so much cream 
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UPDATE ON SALLY 4/17/10:
After about 5 weeks of sitting on eggs, we decided to remove Sally. When Jonathan picked her up, she couldn't even stand, much less walk...she'd been sitting on her eggs so long (eggs hatch at about 21 days). We put her back in the hen pasture and for two days she kept getting out; we think trying to go back and find her eggs. Poor thing! Her brooding instinct would have cost her her life we believe. Anyway, she got over her loss and is much better now. Ted cracked open the eggs...they were not fertilized. We are now starting to get bantom eggs again...probably from Sally and Gloria (our 2 Bantoms). They are tiny eggs, but very orange yolks since they have to forage for most of their food (our other hens don't let them eat much feed.). We don't sell the Bantom eggs, so whenever they show up in the egg carton for breakfast eggs the boys get all excited!
UPDATE ON FLOWER: 4/17/10
Check out the blog titled, "New Birth, New Life" for the details on Flower's kittens.
UPDATE ON BUTTERCUP 4/17/10:
Buttercup's udder started swelling a couple of days ago. From previous experience with Pansy, we know the birth will be in a few days. Yesterday, Ted and the boys spent the morning finishing repairing the fence the bulls had taken down a month earlier when our other cow, Pansy, was in heat. When the fence job was finished, the bulls went back to the bull pasture and the cows got to go back to their regular pasture, which by now has nice green grass for them to munch on again. We wanted the cows in this pasture since it is the smallest, is the closest to the house, and has an old barn for shelter. We're hoping to avoid another repeat calf birth way out in the "back forty" . Stay tuned for Buttercup's birthing blog.
Copyright ©2010 Sherri Maines