Look what Emmy Lou Did!

I took Emmy Lou off her nest to have a feed this morning (read up and I should continue the 20-30 minute exercise and eating routine).  She was ravenous!  But more importantly she has some new arrivals this morning.  I put a towel over the nest so it was warm and quiet while she ate.  There are four little chicks and more eggs are starting to hatch too.  Look closely at the photo and you'll see cracks in the eggs.  You can even see the egg tooth on the end of the chicks beaks.

I'll make sure I remove hay in the nest next time it's open, don't want the chicks getting tangled

I set up her brooder box/run with some chick food - which will be moved under the cover thingy so that only chicks can eat it once they know what to do with it, Emmy Lou shouldn't really eat it for long - not the right food for a layer hen.  I also set up a water bowl with rocks in it (so the chicks won't drown), wheat for mumma and some greens.  It's not The Ritz or anything, but I'm sure we'll manage.

The new meat run is nearly complete, Emmy Lou will spend a week with her babies in the brooder while they get strong and know what food to eat, then they'll all move to the run.  We'll shift the brooder every other day or so, then there will be fresh grass to eat and bugs to find.