chicks and pieces, or chicks in pieces...

Just a short update on my beautiful Buff Orpington hen, Opal. She went broody a couple of weeks ago, and a kind neighbor lady brought over some fertilized eggs for her to sit on.  Opal really wants to be a mommy.  We started out with a dozen eggs, but that was too many for her to gather under her tummy.  There were always a few that were off to the side, so I went ahead and used up three of the eggs for the girls.  One other egg broke in the nest somehow, and poor Opal had to pick sticky stuff off her breast feathers. Sticky, stinky stuff. So we were down to 8 eggs in the nest. I was curious and wanted to try my hand at candling again. I'm here to tell you that I am a major failure at that. In more ways than one. I was trying to balance the egg while shining a flashlight from behind, and the egg dropped. It broke. Yes there was a chick embryo in there. I felt so bad, again. (See former blog post...Sheesh!!) Anyway, we are down to 7 eggs.  I'm not sure how long it takes for a chick to hatch, but it should be happening soon, I would think. Opal goes out in the yard once in a while, but spends the majority of her time just sitting on those eggs.

Her comb is pale, and she is very happy to drink lots of water once she's outside, but she really wants those babies. You can betcha I'll be posting pics when the blessed events occur. Blessings,
Brenda