Jackie's Great Adventure, 1st time hatching eggs Ongoing post here!

[Maryallison77]

Thanks erin0415!

Those silly bantams are still sitting even though I moved mama and the chicks. Anytime any of the hens lay a egg they are both sitting on it!

So now I know I have eggs without even looking cause soon as I get close to the coop they are "chicken growling" at me! It cracks me up!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
They're probably duds, but if you still have hens that want to set you could leave these under them for another day or two. Just in case.

But once Mama has day-old chicks to tend to she shouldn't be tied down to incubating eggs or new wet hatchlings as well. There's one hen here with 2 chicks that hatched yesterday but still has 2 whole eggs under her. She stuck close to her nest today, I don't know if she or the chicks went out of their house at all. So tonight I candled them, saw they were dark & filled with something, don't know if it's alive or not. But I put them under another broody with eggs due to hatch Sat or Sun. Either they'll hatch & have a new Mommy or I'll bury them with this hen's leftovers.

 

[mrandmrschicken]

Quote:
That chicken growling is funny! I have yet to hear that. I do have 5 new babies. In a hotel here in Iowa City, while attending the Eastern Iowa Poultry Show. They are all hotel hatches! A couple more pipped too! I will post pics when I get back home, probably Monday.

 

[Maryallison77]

Thanks Sunny....I have those other 2 bantams that want to sit so I will give them the eggs. I read a few other people's posts and they hatch a few like on day 26!!!! Crazy, but I hate to just throw out a baby that could just be slower cause of cold temps outside. Ok, I am off to run out and give another bantam the eggs!

 

[Maryallison77]

Neat to hear about your hotel buddies there mrandmrschicken! Wow, I have never even heard of a Poultry Show! NEAT! I didn't know about rabbit shows either till we started a rabbitry. Can you buy chickens at the show too?

 

[mrandmrschicken]

Maryallison;Check the index for poultry shows in the area. Yes, you can by sell and trade for birds there. Enjoy the pic of the babies! They are now home under the heat lamp. We hatched a total of 6 out of nine for the first hatch. I didn't think it was too bad!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Late last night/early this AM other hen hatched out 3 of the 6 eggs under her. Like a dope I didn't think to mark the 2 eggs I gave her from the other hen's nest until too late, she had already tucked them in among her other eggs and I couldn't tell the difference. So I don't know if any of these 3 had been under the other hen for the first 20 days.

I found one chick in its egg with much of the shell gone but the membrane mostly intact, and gone dry & tough. I carefully snipped through it with scissors, wet it with water, and put it under the hen. A few hours later it was still in a half-shell, like an oyster, when I pried the shell loose the chick came free.

This AM that chick was dry, fluffy, & doing fine but I found another chick, damp & newly hatched, laying in the straw a few inches from the hen. It was still alive, but cold. I put it back under the hen and it too was fine, dry & fluffy when I checked on it this afternoon.

There are still 3 eggs under the hen, if they haven't hatched by morning I'll have to bury them. In total there now are 5 hens with 23 chicks, and still another hen setting on 4 eggs behind the duck house.

 

[Maryallison77]

Awwww! Thanks for the pics mrandmrschicken! I am so proud of the new chicks we have...almost like I hatched them myself!

They are doing well with mom. I am thinking in the spring if I have another broody I will do this again! This was so much fun! I loved every minute of it!

That was great how you freed the chick from the egg Sunny! Not sure if am that advanced yet....

So at this point I guess I need to toss out the other 4 eggs. Today is day 26 and nothing happened.....

I am very happy with my 2 chickies though!!!!!