Left undisturbed, with no other members of her chicken family, Dolly has gotten down to business! She is vigilantly sitting on all of the eggs. After yesterday’s concerns about eggs 1,5, and 6, I added two freshly laid Silkie eggs to her clutch. Her total now comes to 9. This should be sufficient to see some little chicks in 2 1/2 weeks.
Most of yesterday she remained in her deep zombielike trance. She is drinking water but I am not too sure about the amount of food she is eating. I can tell you, she is dedicated. I have tried to tempt her off the nest with treats and fresh greens. She is not interested.
Out in the main coop, the rest of the flock does not seem to notice that she is gone. I am concerned that when I do bring Dolly back, they will not remember her. She was in the middle of the pecking order. In her absence, the chickens continue to scratch and find goodies. They are happy to sunbathe and take dust baths. Chocolate continues to share his discoveries with his girls. He even alerts them to potential danger from a threatening looking Chickadee. As you can see, it’s business as usual at Tilly’s Nest. Life is good.
