BIRDS & BIRDKEEPING
I'M STARTING my latest article with an audible sigh. I've had a poor start to this year's breeding season, with just two Border chicks hatched under one hen and three under another. A third hen did manage to hatch one chick but it died at about 14 days old. From my eight hens, I've had possibly 15-20 clear nests. Halfway through the incubation period of each bird, I eagerly grabbed my torch and candled the eggs and my heart sank each time when I found clear eggs.
It's been hard to stay motivated with these continual setbacks. In fact, the five chicks
