Episode 1: Lyndy's Chook Gossip

"It's always a happy time when one of the hens decides to go broody. Last week I discovered one of the older hens (Lacey Locks as she has lace feathers) had made a nest outside in the same place she had produced 12 gorgeous chicks about 9 months ago. She'd been studiously laying an egg a day and when she got to 10 she started sitting. We decided to leave her there and "go natural" in her chosen spot. Unfortunately the next morning I discovered one egg in her water bowl and another, broken, a small distance away. We decided to move her with her eggs to a special enclosure (an old dog kennel). But when we lifted her up she only had one egg left. Something - we don't know what - had taken her eggs in the night. We set up a lovely straw nest, donated another 11 eggs, and she is now studiously sitting on 12 mixed eggs from other hens on the farm.

It takes 21 days for them to hatch and the day she started sitting there was a thunder storm. According to folklore, eggs affected by a thunder storm may not hatch... What's more, will they be fertile? We'll have to wait and see - 6th November is Lacey's due date. Stay tuned for the next episode in Chook Gossip."