Multiple births and EGGSPLOSION in the Barn!

Hopalong Hollow Gazette Reports!
This reporter witnessed a most amazing sight as an eggstra perplexing happenstance  occurred in yonder barn.  It all began when this reporter heard the frenzied cacklings and cluckings emanating from said barn and investigated the situation. What this reporter witnessed was quite eggstraordinary, as Peggy, a sensitive white hen of diminutive proportions, and sporting a flopsy red comb,  was observed in near hysteria atop a loft truss.

 She, being covered in egg yolk, egg white and little broken egg shell shrapnel...dangling from her backside, frontside and eggstremities!

 Upon investigating the area around dear Peg, this reporter followed a slimy trail of egg goo and shell cracklings  to discover a peculiar phenomenon ... a nest full of hot boiled eggs which had spontaneously combusted right beneath poor, unsuspecting, and hopeful mother -to- be, (or Not- To be), Peggy!  In other words, Peggy was a sitting duck!

Nature played a cruel trick on the little hen. Alas, Poor Peg, it seems, was not destined for motherhood, after all. When this reporter asked for an in depth interview with little Peg, she declined comment and spent the remainder of the day hiding from all other hens in utter shame and embarrassment. She could be overheard mumbling "rotten eggs, rotten eggs" over and over again. What she really needs is a dip in the pond to remove all reminders of this unpleasant incident.

 On a happier note, we announce the delightful birth of 8 bouncing baby ducklings courtesy of Gwenda.

An experienced feathered lady much more capable of knowing the difference between a fertilized egg and one that is not.

 8 fertilized duck eggs and 1 peacock egg DUD.

Hopalong Hollow Gazette has captured the momentous occasion in

the following newsreel!

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Sorry for the length, I had trouble with my editing program. If you get bored with my little  ducklings, skip ahead to the end and watch the ducklings swimming in the big murky brown puddle, ( which  becomes a big murky green pond when it rains)

PS I keep forgetting that not all of the Gazette readers are farmfolk! Here is the farm scoop: Miss Peggy was sitting on these eggs in an effort to hatch them, unbeknownst to her, they were not fertilized and could never hatch. But she sat and sat, in the hot barn, with her warm body heating up the eggs even more, until KABOOM! the hot boiling eggs exploded underneath her. I am sure it freaked her out totally, and she will never want to sit again. 

I have also been asked which ducklings are the males and which are the girls. Well, it is too early to tell. An easy way to "sex" a duck is by its tail feathers and the quack it makes. We won't see these differences for a month or so. A male duck has a cute little curl in his tail and instead of a loud QUACK, he makes more of a muffled QUeek.  As far as breed, all the yellow feathers you see will turn white and it looks like all the babies are different shades of Blue Swedish duck, like mama, rather that pure white Pekin, like daddy.