Herbert's in labor!

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Or the chicken equivalent, I think :D I just went out to check out where she was before leaving the house and instead of her usual spot under my rose bush, she was back in the coop, up in her box, panting and fussing with the wood shavings and newspaper -- basically nesting.

So I suppose an egg is imminent. We've had her two weeks now since rescuing her from that yard of nasty roosters. Any chance this egg could be fertile?
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Ummmm, seeing as how she came from a yard full of nasty roosters, I'd say the chances are pretty good!

:916blusher:

Actually though, if it's been two weeks since the last time she was "roostered", I'm not sure if the eggs would be fertile now or not!
 

Abbey

Spork Queen
Yep. If she is preparing a nest...you got young ones coming along.

Birds can also produce infertile eggs. It's a natural thing for them to do. Time will tell!!

Abbey
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Yup! She laid a pretty white egg! Now I just need to figure out if we should leave it and see if she hatches it... we're leaving on vacation Saturday, so we might get a surprise when we come back!
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
When we had chickens, what ours would do is wait till there were several eggs in the nest and then start sitting on them. That way they all hatch about the same time.
 

Abbey

Spork Queen
I'll try and contact a friend of mine who grew up in a HUGE chicken farm. There is a certain time frame if you want to actually eat the egg, or hatch it. (I know that sounds yucky, but that is where scrambled eggs come from.)

Abbey
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Well, I did a little internet reading and one site said that rooster sperm can live for 30 days in the hen. So it's quite possible this egg is fertile. I think we'll leave this one alone and see what happens. It would be our only shot of having one hatch, I think. We leave for vacation on Saturday, so maybe when we get back in a few weeks we'll have a peeper!
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
Yup! She laid a pretty white egg! Now I just need to figure out if we should leave it and see if she hatches it... we're leaving on vacation Saturday, so we might get a surprise when we come back!

Or a really stinky mess!
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Don't worry if Herbert lays some more eggs and then gets really lethargic and just wants to sit in her nest. It's called being "broody" and is a nature's hormonally mediated way of making sure mama hen sits on the eggs.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
GN, thanks for that bit of info :) She's not really interested in the nest at all right now, so maybe there are a few more coming in the next couple of days. I won't feel so bad about her being locked up for a few weeks now...
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Well..... we COULD name her Herbertina, after a type of light-colored moth found in the tropics.... OR we could name her Herbertiana, which is a type of passion fruit! But when she clucks, it kinda sounds like "Herrrr-bert-bert-bert-bert"! So maybe we'll just stick with the name she came with :D
 

Steely

Active Member
That is what I was gonna say...........Herbert?????

Oh little chicklets...........I want one.
Then again maybe not. My 2 dogs ate a blue jay today and evidently felt great delight in eating it's little head off as I ran out the backdoor in my PJs to try and rescue it.:dissapointed: Little beasts.
 
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