Only a bantam......

...Could sit on a nest of eggs for 21 days, hatch just one (or even none) of those eggs, nurture it for almost a week and then............................ lose it!

The stupididy is compounded by the fact that, actually, two bantams at the same time each sat on a nest of eggs for 21 days and - between them - hatched just one egg and - between them - nurtured that one egg together for almost a week and then.. between the two of them .... lost it! Where, how and exactly when remains a mystery.

You can just see the little chick sunbathing next to mum no. 1 in the first picture; moments later it had gone to sleep (picture 2) somewhere under either no. 1 or no. 2 mum. Each of the hens was equally protective of it - for almost a week - ushering it around between the pair of them the whole time, clucking as hens do whilst the little one "Cheep, cheep, cheep"-ed for all it was worth. For such a little thing it was very noisy... In fact, it was the noise - or, rather, the lack of noise, which alerted me that something was wrong this morning.

I let them out of their pen to go into their run as usual first thing this morning and the little one was fine..... three hours later when I was passing I missed the plaintive "Cheep, Cheep" so went to investigate. And there was no little chick.

I looked all around the pen, along the hedge, in the little hen house..... Nothing.

Completely and mysteriously disappeared.

Did it wander under the fence on to the Bridlepath the other side and get caught by a passing dog: did a Jackdaw swoop down and grab it? It might just as well have evaporated. There was no sign of it.

Were the stupid bantam hens concerned? After all their effort and mothering I'd have expected them to be running up and down, clucking and screeching and looking fraught. Instead, they seemed quite resigned - walked up and down a bit - like two dowager duchesses parading round the park for a while - but that was it. Stupid, stupid birds. How could they have lost the chick in broad daylight in the middle of the morning with people about?

Only a bantam could be that careless......................