Mrs. Rumphius, our partridge Silkie hen, is still sitting on her eggs. Her due date is next Tuesday or Wednesday, so we'll be keeping an eye on her. The last time I went to pick up feed, I talked to an older farmer who told me several interesting things. The first was that hawks are migrating this time of year. That would explain why we went all summer without seeing any, and then saw one out of nowhere. He also told me that the brooding hen will leave her nest once a day to get food and water. That explained why I saw Mrs. Rumphius off her eggs, and also why I don't need to worry about her as much as I thought I did. He also told me that I needed to watch for fire ants in the hen's nest when the eggs hatch. I wasn't sure if we'd have that problem in a roost off the ground, but I'm not taking any chances. When I cleaned out the roost today, I sprinkled diatomaceous earth on the fresh pine shavings. And now, we're counting down the next five or six days.
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