Well, I am not certain, but there is a good chance both of Ruby’s babies are boys! Obviously, this is tough news. I am 100% certain one of them is a boy, the little penguin-looking baby is definitely a boy. He’s a cutie pie for sure. I have a little hope on the other baby. There is not much comb, and there was a good tail. These are hopeful signs for a hen. Yet there are some not hopeful signs as well. I see a little bit of color in the comb, and I have seen more than a little chest bumping between the babies. Still, I am officially saying I don’t know and will try to have some hope.
Ron thinks it’s a boy. I feel like he’s just too negative sometimes. I tell him he’s a pessimist all the time, but he says he’s a realist.
Anyway, Ruby is doing great as a mama, though I see her getting a tiny bit worn. And, today, Ron said he brought her a mushy strawberry from the strawberry beds. She started to give it to her babies, but then took a little bite. After that, Ron said she was torn. She did share a little more, but there was clear hesitation, he said. She wanted that berry for herself.
We also have a record number of broody hens right now. It’s been raining so much that we haven’t had a comfortable space for them for the breaking of the broody. We have 8 nest boxes. We now have more broody hens than nest boxes. This is very bad.
Thankfully, this afternoon, there was a break in the rain, and I was able to put a couple of broody hens in the small broody-breaking fenced area. Pumpkin managed to fly over, but the little Faverolle girl couldn’t fly over and is stuck. She just went broody two days ago. Hopefully, she’ll be finished with just a day or two in “broody jail,” as I call it.
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OK, I just took a break from writing this to go check on the ducks. When I came back around, I saw Ruby and her babies sitting so beautifully in the breeze, so I got my phone to make my short video for the day (I am trying to video at least 30 seconds every day, though I missed a couple of times). After more study, I’m pretty sure the other baby is a boy too. Sigh. It’s the bone structure. It’s a worry.
Still, I do have one hen who is huge. I thought she was surely a boy when she was little. But it was Jane, and she’s definitely a girl. She’s out there broody right now. So, yeah, maybe just a sliver of hope.
