Such a Softy

I'm not a very responsible chicken farmer. When a hen goes boody (starts sitting on a clutch of eggs), I have a hard time taking them away from her. I need to get better at it, because we just don't need an infinite amout of chickens, and there are better seasons than others to have baby chicks.

This is a bad season. But we have a new addition:

I know, aawww . . . BUT, the nights are getting colder and winter is knocking at the door. I let my hen sit on one egg. It was an agreed upon compromise between the two of us. She wanted 8, I left 1.

Not sure how that was any better than a whole clutch, since I still have to set up a separate area for her with food, water and a heat lamp. She might as well have had 30 chicks. But how can you take away eggs from a face like this?

And she's such a good mommy. And her chicks are so darn cute. Here's another look:

Aaawww. . .

If it was spring, we'd put them in their doggy igloo and fence off a section of the chicken run to keep the other hens away (they're a bit cannibalistic). But it's not spring. So cute, yet such a pain. I've gotta toughen up!