Yesterday Flame went broody. Flame has been laying for six weeks and has never gone broody this early in the year before.
I don’t remember ever having three broody girls before. Loads of times there have been two as Smoke is a serial broody and will coincide with another girl from time to time.
This is a bit frustrating because Flame is one of our best layers. Flame lays two days out of three whereas Ebony lays every other day at best and hasn’t laid for the last three days.
This will leave us with much fewer eggs and not many of the bigger eggs. It also clogs up the nest boxes. Last night I closed all the nest boxes before bedtime as it also means moving three girls.
By closing the nest boxes it meant that both Flame and Smoke perched at bedtime. Sugar settled in the corner of the chicken shed but it meant I only had to lift one girl to the perch rather than three.
Ebony in the background is looking in the nest box because I have lifted the lid. She always likes to take a look when I look in but she didn’t go in.
I wonder if Flame laying her eggs beside broody Sugar has triggered her going broody. Flame does like company in the nest box and it’s not the first time she has been broody alongside a little girl.
I guess we are going to be having less eggs for a while. We won’t be able to gift any more for a while. Sigh!
Click here to see the history of my flock.
They like to keep you busy! xx
They sure do! xx
It is that time of the year again, never a dull moment.
You are so right, that of the year. Always something going on with these girls.
Fun and games! It always has a significant impact on egg production, once you have a couple of broodies, never mind three. Butterscotch turned broody again yesterday – I might let her sit.
The first day Ebony started laying again we had six eggs from seven girls for the first time. Only Spangle didn’t lay that day. From there it has dropped off and Ebony has stopped laying again and hasn’t laid for a week now. I don’t know what is going on with her. For the last three days we have had only one egg a day and that has been Shadow for the last two days and Spangle the day before that. I can’t believe we have gone from such an abundance of eggs to just one little egg a day. Without Ebony we have no bigger eggs now. I am finding this a bit of a pain but I think that Smoke is coming out of it again. Smoke seems to come out of it quicker these days which is something I suppose.