Hopalong Hollow....

Hopalong Hollow, where the Blueberries grow sweet, and the moss feels soft beneath your feet.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Lavender babies for Mothers Day

Good greetings to Mothers one and all!
Here in the Hollow, there is one mother that is particularly happy today.
Demelza.
Our ginger feathered hen
   Demelza is what as known as a Broody hen. To those not familiar with farm terms, this is a hen who REALLY wants to  be a mommy and will sit and SIT and SIT on eggs, whether or not they are viable, FOREVER. I once had a broody goose sitting on colored plastic balls for 2 weeks, she refused to budge.
Because I do not want anymore ginger colored chickens, I allowed the beautiful Demelza to sit on 2  unfertilized peahen eggs, just to keep her in that nest until the time came when My special order arrived.....
I ordered these chicks back in December, because there is something very unique about them....
 They look rather ordinary now.... although cute as the dickens!,
 but as they grow, their feathers will become more and more LAVENDER colored.
Lavender chickens!!!
In the gardens!
I LOVE LAVENDER 

 Demelza needed some babies to satisfy her urge for becoming a mother.
This is why I let her sit on those devoid peahen eggs, to occupy her in anticipation of THIS very day.

The chicklets needed a mommy to keep them warm and teach them the ways of chicken life;
 so  I brought them outside, made a nest in the little shop, and placed Demelza with the babies.



Naturally, she thought SHE had hatched them, all 10 of them, from 2 peahen eggs. 
They immediately cozied beneath their new mama... she is a much nicer alternative to this:
 which is what I would have used if that broody hen hadn't accepted the chicklets.
But she did!
 Happy Mothers Day Demelza!
And to all of you mothers, as well

20 comments:

  1. How sweet!

    Happy Mother's Day to you dear Jeri ~ Love & hugs ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, how adorable. "You go, Demelza."
    "Happy Mother's Day to all."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Demelza must be so happy to have ten little ones. Lavender chickens? Please show us more as they grow. The eggs are beautiful. Happy Mother's Day to you,Jeri and Delmeza. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this, Jeri! I did not know that about Broody hens. I am reading Susan Wittig Albert's story right now from the Beatrix Potter Cottage tales about Jemima Puddleduck sitting on 10 eggs for weeks and weeks wondering why they hadn't hatched yet. It turns out she'd dug up a clutch of tortoise eggs because she'd lost her own eggs to the dogs that rescued her from the fox. Your lavender chickens will be a lovely addition to your garden. And those colored eggs are quite amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jeri, this post is such a gift! Thank you for sharing the pleasure you've given to your broody hen, and also for showing me a variety of chickens I'd never before seen. What eggs, what chicks, what incredibly colored mature hens.

    I am still sort of shaking my head taking in this glorious new info. Hoping my old memory bank will hold on to this incoming info! xo

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've never had an Araucana chicken that color. Other kinds but not that kind and I am surprised Demelza accepted them. I thought you'd have to sneak them under her. I tease my son that he's getting broody each spring. We'd always ordered our chicks when he was growing up. The post office would call around 4 am for us to come and get those chicks. They couldn't stand all the peeping, but my son was a wonderful substitute mother to his fowl. Happy Mother's Day to you Jeri.

    ReplyDelete
  7. OH JERI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    OK, I want a lavender chicken! Unbelievable, this color, and then their EGGS? Naturally PAAS style Easter eggs!!!! Gosh, these are amazing! On our walks here in our neighborhood, we were delighted to discover a corner house with a chicken coop! HERE IN THE CITY! We visit "the ladies" regularly and they come up to the edge of their coop and cluck at us. I swear, I always walk away smiling but also HUNGRY for a plump chicken breast! We have seen more and more urban chickens in the city, and the neighbors love having fresh eggs.

    OK, as for that goose of yours, sitting on colored plastic balls! HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAA.....some folks (feathered and flesh) just want to be mommas. Bless their hearts.

    Well my friend, between you and Penny, I have been lifted up here in Blogland with pleasant images of nature coming to life. Happy Mothers Day to you dear Jeri!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am so excited for your little lavender chicks! In all the years we had chickens, we only had one who was a bit broody. Unfortunately none of the eggs hatched out. It looks like Demelza is going to be a perfect mommy. -Jenn

    ReplyDelete
  9. How beautiful....lavender hens!! If only they would lay lavender eggs!!! So happy Demelza gets to be a momma!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is so beautiful I'm teary-eyed! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Happy Mother's Day to All!

    Jeri,
    You are a wonderful and caring person. Demelza is lucky to have a loving friend.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dear Jeri- what a beautiful post for this special weekend coming up. Gives me a lump in my throat. Thanks for sharing. Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh my!! Good heavens how cute and sweet can it get????
    Lavender chickens!!!(Like the blueberry Bunnies!!!) And even multi colored eggs!!
    My CUTENESS~METER is going haywire!!!!!!!!!
    What a good good mommy hen Demelza is!! So sweet indeed!!
    Have fun dearest Jeri!!! xx oo Linnie Lou

    ReplyDelete
  14. if this isn't the cutest thing ever and the best mother's day story!

    ReplyDelete
  15. It's good to know that Demelza's maternal proclivities have been satisfied. It's important to have satisfied chickens after all.

    I can hardly wait till those chicks get big and lavenderish. How long will that take? The grow pretty fast, don't they?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Vic, Chicks grow very quickly. I imagine the lavender will appear gradually over the next few weeks. I will have to take a lot of photos.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Demelza is a loving mom and wait til she sees those pretty lavender chicks.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dear Jeri,
    What a beautiful post! I had no idea there was such a thing as a Lavender colored chicken! The wee chicks are so sweet.. Really looking forward to seeing them all grown up. And the eggs! Looks like Easter.. I am so happy Demelza had the chance to be a mom, even though they are not hers.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dear Jeri,

    What adorableness! My little banty hen went broody and I made the mistake of putting quail eggs under her. She hatched them perfectly, but kept stepping right on top of them, so we had to take them away. Now she's back at being broody again, the silly thing!
    I've heard of Lavender Orpingtons, but never Ameraucanas before. I can see why you would be smitten!
    Love,
    Marqueta
    p.s. You just never know, we might end up in your neck of the woods! Wouldn't that be fun?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marqueta, that would be great in so many ways!

      Delete

Please do leave a word or two, we SO like to hear from you!