Burrying eggs??

[MommyGirl]

My guess is they dug the hole, laid the eggs, sat on the nest, then when they left the nest they buried them. But since I never saw them in the last 21 days sit on anything I cannot confirm.

Post pics of those miracle chicks

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

Lol yes please do!!

 

[Jeff_Stone]

I have brought the chicks inside, the hens were pecking them. They're in the incubator since they're still wet. I have never seen this in my life. My dad, raised chickens for 70 years now, said they will bury their eggs if they think the roosters will eat them. But he's never heard of any hatching in the dirt. Weird weird weird
I almost wonder if they were digging to lay another egg in the nest and the babies were hatching? How did they hatch tho? The temps here have only been in the 70's so you wouldn't think the ground would be over like 80'ish in the sun. SOmeone had to have been sitting on them right?

Wow, that is bizarre! This is either the weirdest chicken behavior I’ve ever heard of… or the best April Fools' prank of the year! If it’s real, those chicks are little miracle babies! Keep us updated—I’m officially intrigued.

But, I will... Keep on keeping on...

Definitely not something you see every day. Good call bringing the chicks inside if the hens were pecking them—better safe than sorry.

Your dad’s theory about hiding the eggs from the roosters makes sense, but yeah, the hatching part is the real mystery. Even if the ground got warm enough, consistent heat and humidity would be needed, so someone had to have been sitting on them at least part-time. Maybe a stealthy broody who snuck in to warm them now and then without fully committing?

Either way, you’ve got some little survivors on your hands! Keep us posted on how they do—super curious to see how this plays out.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What color were the eggs? And ... pics or it didn't happen, lol!

 

[NatJ]

Even if the ground got warm enough, consistent heat and humidity would be needed, so someone had to have been sitting on them at least part-time.

Not neccessarily. I've read of it happening on rare occasions, when conditions happen to be correct. Most situations like this do not produce live chicks, but every now and then apparently it does happen.

 

[WoDia]

@Sihschris

@fluffycrow, I think you may have heard this story. This is a slightly similar story. One very hot and humid summer, I moved my chickens from one coop to another, preparing for a renovation. Over a week later, I went to do my daily feeding/water for a few roos I hadn’t moved yet. As I approached, I heard tiny peeps from inside. I opened the door to find my roos, standing like statues, staring into a darkened rear corner under the nesting boxes. I went over to see what was happening, and I found hatchlings peeping away! Imagine my shock! Not only did I find the hatchlings, but I was also amazed that the roos didn’t harm them. I still feel guilty about it. One very important thing that day taught me was to always thoroughly check for a hidden nest… and pay closer attention to a broody-acting hen.

 

[Jeff_Stone]

Not neccessarily. I've read of it happening on rare occasions, when conditions happen to be correct. Most situations like this do not produce live chicks, but every now and then apparently it does happen.

Totally get where you’re coming from--Goldilocks conditions do happen! But even in those ‘miracle’ cases, I’d argue it’s less ‘dirt magically hatched chicks’ and more ‘dirt happened to mimic a broody hen’s dedication.’

Heat + humidity fluctuations? Sure. But stable incubation requires that nurturing consistency--whether from feathers, a warm rot pile, or sheer dumb luck. (And let’s be honest: ‘I read it happened once’ is fun to ponder, but it's still admissible to say you would side-eye a guy claiming he raised one in his backyard.)

Either way, love the discussion!

 

[NatJ]

Totally get where you’re coming from--Goldilocks conditions do happen! But even in those ‘miracle’ cases, I’d argue it’s less ‘dirt magically hatched chicks’ and more ‘dirt happened to mimic a broody hen’s dedication.’

Yes, it would be a case of the conditions happening to mimic what happens under a broody hen. But you had said that "someone had to have been sitting on them at least part-time," and I'm saying that is not quite a given.

Heat + humidity fluctuations? Sure. But stable incubation requires that nurturing consistency--whether from feathers, a warm rot pile, or sheer dumb luck. (And let’s be honest: ‘I read it happened once’ is fun to ponder, but it's still admissible to say you would side-eye a guy claiming he raised one in his backyard.)

Either way, love the discussion!

I agree, it's not something I would expect to see very often. And if someone tried to have it happen on purpose, I would expect a lot of failures and few or no successes!

 

[Jeff_Stone]

Why are we the last two talking about this? LOL

But ok, fair enough! My point was really about the biological reality of incubation—whether it’s a hen, a compost heap, or a freakishly warm tarp, (act of God not excluded), but any which way--something had to provide that consistent microclimate for 21 days. (Even ‘luck’ requires a very specific setup!)

You’re right that no someone is strictly required—but I’d still argue that something functionally acted as a ‘sitter’ by holding stable conditions. Dirt’s not exactly known for its nurturing instincts, and alone wont hold its temperature consistently; so I’ll side-eye any claim of ‘totally passive’ hatching until I see a time-lapse of self-regulating soil.

That said, I’ll concede this much: If a chick does crawl out of bare dirt like some avian zombie, I’ll be first in line to study it. Until then, I’m team ‘Broody Hen Did It.’

Keep the weird science coming—I’m here for it.

 

[NatJ]

Why are we the last two talking about this? LOL

Because we have weird interests or too much time on our hands?

But ok, fair enough! My point was really about the biological reality of incubation—whether it’s a hen, a compost heap, or a freakishly warm tarp, (act of God not excluded), but any which way--something had to provide that consistent microclimate for 21 days. (Even ‘luck’ requires a very specific setup!)

You’re right that no someone is strictly required—but I’d still argue that something functionally acted as a ‘sitter’ by holding stable conditions. Dirt’s not exactly known for its nurturing instincts, and alone wont hold its temperature consistently; so I’ll side-eye any claim of ‘totally passive’ hatching until I see a time-lapse of self-regulating soil.

That said, I’ll concede this much: If a chick does crawl out of bare dirt like some avian zombie, I’ll be first in line to study it. Until then, I’m team ‘Broody Hen Did It.’

Keep the weird science coming—I’m here for it.

I found a book from 1911, talking about selling eggs and what not to do. This was before refrigeration was widely available, and the author said "In the season of 1901 hatched chickens were commonly found in cases of market eggs, throughout the trans-Mississippi region."

For that, I'm thinking it was a combination of weather conditions, plus a whole crate of eggs being big enough that conditions inside might be relatively stable. (The outer edges might get hotter and cooler, but the middle might hold a fairly stable temperature.) And of course he didn't say anything about the hatch rate, given that he was telling people what not to do with eggs for eating.

He was talking as if partly-developed eggs were a very common thing in eggs being sold for eating during summer months, but the hatched chicks were unusual.

The book was "The Dollar Hen" by Milo Hastings, available for free online at Project Gutenberg.

Remembering that, I thought it was quite interesting to see a more recent report of something with a slight resemblance (eggs hatching without any person or apparently any broody hen tending them.)