It has been a long HOT summer here. Hot !!  We have had temperatures over the 100 degree mark more than once, and the humidity hasn't been low much at all. Bascially, we've been sweaty and miserable all summer. Generally,August is usually the worst here in central PA. So far, its been hot humid and damp. Rain off and on today ( August 7th) and the grass is green !  The horses have done much better than we humans have in all of this heat- thank goodness.

Emmi, our Light Brahma hen, decided that she was going to hatch out some eggs, so she could have a family. It's called " going broody" in the world of chickens and boy, Emmi was BROODY !  She would lay a non-fertile egg (no more roosters) --- then proceed to sit on it. She didn't realize it would rot, rather than hatch a baby chicken. If I would take that egg, well Emmi would simply sit on Nothing. I tried and tried to convince her to not be like that- but she was Determined to hatch eggs, and she was going to sit there until they DID.

I called a friend of mine who has a lot of hens and roosters- thus might have fertile eggs. It turns out she did and soon Emmi had 8 fertile bantam eggs. She was So pleased and was clucking happily to herself as I put them under her feathers. She sat there for 21 days- only getting off for a dirt bath, or some food daily. By the end of the 21 days, she didn't get off at ALL.  I put some hen food in there along with some cool water, while she sat. One Sunday morning, I walked up to their little hen house, and there was a teeny tiny chick !  By the end of that day, she had 6 babies and oh my, was she proud ! The next day she took her chicks outside into the small area I'd fenced off and they've been doing fine ever since. The other two eggs- one disappeared and one simply didn't hatch.  We lost one of the chicks last week, but the remaining 5 are fine as can be. I'll add some photos of them- by now, they're feathering out and growing bigger.

Emmi & her brood...

Below :Hardly dried off yet- and SO small !

Here they are outside- only four of the chicks though....They are Bantam Easter Eggers and the hens will eventually lay pink, green or blue eggs !

First day outside w/ mama