Chickens Loupe Collage

To take my mind off the current state of eggs incubating I experimented with a new collage making tool called Loupe Collage.  It's quick and easy to create collages of photos and you can choose from a lot of different shapes.  I chose an egg shaped collage of recent photos.

Update
23 eggs in the chicken pen this morning, one egg broken with nothing in it. I then later spotted the broody hen pick one of the eggs lying in the nesting box with her beak and then she proceeded to break it, but it looked as if nothing was inside. 

Still no more chicks hatching....  They have 3 more days and then we will have to take action .......

21 Eggs and No More Chick

Sadly, the excitement of yesterday's lovely event turned to great disappointment this morning when the newborn chick was found dead.  We presume it had somehow escaped the safety and comfort of its mother's wings and then during the night, had been pecked by the other members of the coop.

So all we have left now, is a clutch of 21 eggs in the nesting box, 3 more than yesterday. Photo below taken today while the chicken had gone off for her usual walk. Knowing which of these eggs might contain a chick waiting to hatch is difficult to predict. Maybe we will have no more chicks....

The old adage of 'Don't count your chickens before they are hatched' makes a lot of sense right now. We learn from experience!!

I am seriously beginning to think that something is not quite right with this particular hen..... If no more chicks are hatched by the weekend, we will sadly have to throw the eggs away, as they will have gone way over the usual hatching period of 21-23 days. We will then have to make sure that this chicken does not sit on any more eggs for the time being....

A Hungry Chicken & More Eggs

This is the broody chicken caught on her way to the feeding container.  She seems to be getting bigger....

She actually got into the big planter to gobble up as much as possible!

The image below was taken yesterday, Monday September 2nd 2013.  As you can see, there are 2 more eggs, making it a total of 13, the chicken is sitting on.  The shape of the eggs has changed from Sunday's image of 11 eggs.

The image below was taken today, whilst the chicken was out feeding.  The shape is different yet again from yesterday's image.  She is turning the eggs and moving them all the time!

What I would like to know is, where are these eggs coming from?  Are any of them going to hatch??  From what I have read, a chicken gathers a 'clutch' of eggs consisting of usually 12 eggs.  We now have 13, so does it mean she is almost ready to do what she has to do???

 I have no idea, and each day is a waiting game.  It is very exciting....

The Broody Chicken

Below you see one of our chickens, which has been incubating some eggs, the past couple of weeks. Apparently it takes 21 days for chicks to hatch, if the eggs are fertile.

 

As you can see below, the chicken has arranged the eggs in a distinct shape.  She had just popped out to stretch her legs and so I was able to quickly take this photo.

The eggs get turned by the chicken several times a day, to ensure that each one gets the required amount of heat necessary to develop properly.