Our year old hen managed to hatch 5 out of 7 eggs this week! Her mother is usually the hen to go broody but this young bird has inherited her mother's broodiness (and moodiness) and did an excellent job.
I would have preferred to have her hold off sitting until the second rooster had been dispatched for a few weeks before she sat to ensure Roy's dna was the one being passed down. (Roy is our full blooded Barnevelder rooster.) However, she had it in her little head she was going to sit so we decided to let her go ahead. We have three little black chicks and two brown ones. We had some Dominique hens and roosters three years ago and those genes are apparently very strong. I'm hoping the two little brown ones will provide us with at least one pure Barnevelder as we only have the one pure hen.
I'm going to start putting aside the Barnevelder hen's eggs in the hopes that the older momma hen will get the urge to sit soon. I'd love to get a full hatch of those. We also have the option of a tiny incubator I came across but I'm not sure how effective it will be.
These cold nights have been causing some pretty bad frosts. TH and I have still been carrying in our plants every night from the greenhouse and they are doing well. TH also started several more plants the other day so we should have a garden full of things to care for!
I'm considering selling some of our excess produce at the local farmer's market. We'll have to see how the garden does and go from there. I think it would be great fun to set up and visit with other farmers in the area.
Don't forget to enter the seed giveaway if you haven't already! If you go to the How About a Giveaway post, you can enter there. I look forward to sharing some seeds with one lucky person!
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