For a long time, the Crooked Little Hen laid her eggs in a hole she dug just for this purpose in an old chair around the side of the porch. It was a handy location from whence to collect them and they stayed nice and clean.
Only apparently she got a little upset with the way they kept disappearing and she started laying them on top of a bale of hay. She lays particularly narrow oval blue eggs and she is the only one who lays them exactly in that narrow, long shape so they are easy to spot as hers.
I started picking them up from the bale of hay.
Then she stopped laying them there, too.
I didn’t know where she went with her eggs until yesterday when I found this pile of pretty blue eggs in her signature narrow, blue oval design. They have Crooked Little Hen stamped all over them.
I don’t particularly want her to hatch any eggs. She might pass along her defect. But she made this nest in a particularly difficult to reach spot so it’s still there. The little sneak.
I know I should get in there and pick up the eggs.
I can’t let her have babies…..
I just can’t.
But maybe she’s just following her heart. Maybe she just wants someone to love who would be all her own, someone who wouldn’t judge her. Maybe the babies wouldn’t have her defect and maybe she doesn’t care if they did. Maybe she’s just trying awfully hard to be a….
Crooked Little Mama.
Lacey says:
We’re probably reading too much into this (I’ve been around enough animals that I’ll never limit their emotions to what we can understand and recognize) . . .
But that is so sad and so sweet. Just let her have her babies. I want babies too; I can understand. She’ll probably be a good mama chicken. And, she’ll be so busy attending to the young ‘uns to stare at you through the window- no more cute little stalker chicken!
On May 24, 2010 at 1:27 am
Sue Young says:
Suzanne, would she notice if you took her eggs and substituted some you think are fertile from a healthy-beaked hen so she could have babies safely?
On May 24, 2010 at 3:47 am
BuckeyeGirl says:
Well, you could either replace her eggs with those of another hen, or assume her crossed bill is from being in the egg in a funny position, another possible cause for having a crossed bill.
Though, it doesn’t sound like she’s really broody yet. Another thing, if she hatches any chicks, they’ll be porch dwellers too thanks to mama teaching them how great it is there, and your porch numbers will grow.
On May 24, 2010 at 4:12 am
glenda says:
I wish one of my girls would start setting! Nary a one of my 16 has any tendencies toward rearing young.
I would leave her be just to see what she has.
On May 24, 2010 at 6:08 am
Johanna says:
I once had a hen hide her eggs for a month before I found them! She was sneaking into the upstairs of the barn, where I never go. Just coincidentally one day she hopped down from there when I was in the barn, so I climbed the steps to see what she’d been investigating and discovered about 25 blue-green eggs layed one next to the other along the edge of the wall! She wasn’t even gathering them into a nest!
Had to close the hatch door to the upstairs after that. Imagine the smell if a barn rat had opened those eggs up!
I think you should try giving CLH someone else’s eggs in her pile. But it sounds like she’s not actually setting (at least yet), so maybe she just likes this laying place better.
On May 24, 2010 at 6:43 am
Barbee' says:
Farming, well life in general, is always a challenge. People have overbites, underbites, crossbites, I guess she has a side bite. She is still cute, though. Hope things work out for you both.
On May 24, 2010 at 6:46 am
Mass Chick says:
There is no reason she can’t have a brood, just once. She is trying very hard to get one that’s for sure. I say let her be a mama. Remember how she cared for Mr. Hyde? She is a natural. :heart:
On May 24, 2010 at 8:19 am
I Wanna Farm says:
I say let her have them, too. She seems to be fine with being a little crooked. They’ll probably be fine with it too.
On May 24, 2010 at 8:41 am
mamawolf says:
Awww, come on Suzanne, let her have some babies. Like others have said her “crookedness” may just be a fluke and her babies will be OK.
On May 24, 2010 at 8:48 am
Glenie says:
Cute story.
On May 24, 2010 at 8:52 am
Karen Anne says:
Like Sue, I think once she is broody (is that the right word?) substitute eggs from a hen with no problems. if she hatches her own eggs there is too great a chance of a defect that would actually prevent the chicks from eating, then imagine how she’d feel. This way she gets to be a Mom without that possibility, hopefully.
On May 24, 2010 at 8:59 am
Brenda says:
It’s spring, she is trying to hatch babies. If you don’t want her blue eggs to hatch then just put other eggs under her.
On May 24, 2010 at 9:47 am
Shirley Corwin says:
Yep, I vote for switching eggs and letting her be a mommy.
On May 24, 2010 at 10:24 am
AA says:
Oh please do keep us posted this one. I think we all want to see her be a mom one way oth the other. Personally, I would be curious as to the outcome of her own eggs. I’d want to know if they had crooked beaks or not.IF it was so bad they couldn’t eat or something you could, um, dispose of them, I guess. I mean, they are chickens (wings, nuggets, strips, etc.)
On May 24, 2010 at 10:39 am
Anna says:
when you collected her eggs did you leave one there thats what we do or our hens move the nests then we gotta search for them lol
If she goes broody just switch her eggs out for some others, that way you will not have to worry about her passing on her cross beak defect
On May 24, 2010 at 11:13 am
Lavon says:
Maybe, just maybe, she won’t pass on her defect. Let her try just once, please! I will be watching with much interest as to what will be. You have such a wonderful relationship with all your animals. You are not to be believed! Wish I lived near enough to visit 2 or 3 times a week….altho’ everyday by computer is better than nothing!!
On May 24, 2010 at 11:46 am
PJ says:
Suzanne–I’m thinking her beak may have been damaged in some way and she might not have a defect. C’mon, let her try. She seems to be a nurturer. Take a chance on her. The fact that she’s trying so hard to outsmart you shows a certain determination, you’ll have to admit. So, my vote is: let the Crooked Little Hen have her chicks. I’m a big fan of CLH!
On May 24, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Cathy says:
Just swap out her eggs with another hens eggs. That way she will have eggs when she decides to go broody on you and you won’t have to worry about any defects. She won’t know the switched eggs aren’t hers and will be happy to have her own little clutch to care for and be a real mommy! They don’t like you taking their eggs from where they are laying, so by replacing her eggs with others, she likely won’t move where she is laying now.
On May 24, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Kay Bryan says:
Oh, just try this once. She is trying so hard to follow her instincts. Love your blog!
On May 24, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Sandi says:
I’ve never had a chicken so I don’t know these things – do you eat fertilized eggs? I always thought the ones we eat are not fertilized.
On May 25, 2010 at 12:33 am
cranberry says:
This little gal isn’t a sneak. She is trying to raise a family the way nature intended. Sure, some babies may turn out to have crooked beaks, but we are not all perfect are we, it never stopped us humans. Let her have some babies. I am sure she will not neglect them and will be very proud to be a chicken mama! Let us know what happens please! Thanks Chicken Grandma!
On May 25, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Katiegirl says:
My sneaky hens always move their nests even when they’re not broody. They just don’t like their eggs getting taken. 🙂
On May 26, 2010 at 9:20 am