Broody Buttercup

My lovely Buff Sussex hen is broody. She wants to be a mum and she is very determined to be one. Buttercup will sit on any egg and becomes very grumpy with us when we move her to collect the eggs. She doesn't care that we don't have a rooster and that the eggs would never hatch, all she knows is that her hormones are telling her to sit and keep them warm.

At the weekend DH and I drew up plans to build her a little coop all of her own and then we would get some fertilised eggs for her to sit on and do her thing. We were driving to the local hardware shop to buy the wood and bits and pieces when I noticed in the junk shop yard something that looked just like a coop. "STOP the car and turn around" I yelled and sure enough there it was, all made and only $80.

Bargain!!! Perfect!!! And it has wheels to make it easier to move around!

We loaded it into the back of the car and took it home. We decided a modification to the top of the run would be a good idea. A solid roof helps keep the ground under it dry and gives protection from the sun. We already had a bit of plywood so some hinges, screws and a latch was all we needed. I made contact with a lovely lady who lives not too far from us about some eggs so the next day after DH did the necessary adjustments we popped Buttercup in it while we went to get the eggs.

I only wanted a couple of eggs as Buttercup has already been sitting for a couple of weeks and I didn't want to buy lots only to have her give up and the eggs be wasted. The lovely egg lady gave me two eggs to try and didn't charge me as she isn't sure of fertility. We popped them under Buttercup and she seems very happy.

So, hopefully in two weeks time (they have already spent a week in an incubator) we will have two little chicks. Rhode Island Red is the breed just like Charlotte was. So exciting, I hope it all goes to plan.