Our little bantam from last year’s chicks went broody on us whilst I was an inpatient in rehab. Luckily I was home by the time her chicks hatched and I have been able to watch them and get grow up. As always bantam chicks add a new level of problems because of their size and because of the overnight temperatures we ended up with them in the mudroom until they were old enough to go into the maternity ward (which was in use with a mum that doesn’t share well with other chooks and is also rather feral.)

This bantam is a cross between a Silver Laced and a Pencil Laced Wyandotte. Like all bantams she had that small chook attitude problem. We chose some Old English Game bantams for her to sit on and of the 10 eggs she sat on, 7 hatched. 2 were pullets, the other 5 are all cockerels!

Finally, all 7 chicks in one picture.

Before these chicks are 5 weeks old, mum (Cagney) was broody again and is now sitting on eggs again. This time they are standard size eggs because it was the only way we could break up the fights that were going on between her and another broody chook which happened every time the other chook got up and left her eggs for a break, food and water etc. When she’d go back she would find that Cagney would be sitting on her eggs. Ironically now that Judith’s eggs have hatched and she has chicks of her own, some of the chicks have decided that another broody chook (Arya, a very moody, big, black chook we acquired some time ago) is a better place to warm up or have a nap with than with their own mum! Hopefully they will stop this soon because Arya’s chicks are due to hatch in a week’s time.

Mum now has to put up with the 3 remaining chicks sleeping on top of her whilst she is in turn sitting on eggs. The nesting box isn’t really big enough.