My pet hen, Kiep, is now 6 months old and started laying eggs on the 8th July 2011. The first week was very erratic, with an egg every second or third day, then, regularly as clock-work, she would come into my Studio at 9am in the morning, quietly lay her egg and join Artemis, her lover, back in the garden again.
But since last Friday, she's been getting very upset when I try and remove the eggs from the nest (I have two for breakfast every second day!) and even after I removed the egg, would sit on the nest for hours before going for a stroll in the garden again. I'm not sure whether the last couple of eggs are fertile or not, because I haven't seen Artemis getting up to any funny business with my little girl, but she definitely seems to think it's time for a family.
I've got 14 chickens at the moment, 8 hens and 6 roosters (way too many roosters!) and I definitely don't want any more chooks! So I've given Kiep one of her precious eggs and so far she has spent the whole day sitting on it, puffing herself up if I should get too close and the rest of the time contentedly snoozing.
They normally brood on the eggs for about 20 days, so roundabouts the 13th of August is the dead-line as to whether the egg is going to hatch or not!
Pen and wash sketch - Stabilo FinePoint pen in brown with water wash and a dash of watercolour in my Moleskine nature Journal
Your sketch is so simple and well done, and I enjoy reading your anecdotes.
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