New member introduction!

Buggirl

In the Brooder
5 Years
Apr 18, 2014
30
3
26
Bryan, TX
Hi friends,

I'm brand new to the site (and to chicken ownership) and wanted to introduce myself!

My neighbor asked my kids (they're 3 and 5 yrs old) to pet sit for him, which included feeding his pet chickens. My five year old daughter got excited when she saw a hen sitting on her eggs and asked me if she could take a few home to hatch them out. I said sure, thinking it wasn't likely to happen since all we did was sit the eggs under a reading lamp.

Well, almost a month later, one egg started chirping! I waited and waited for hours while the chick got louder and louder but still no pipping, so I intervened and spent the whole day and night helping the chick hatch. It was an awesome experience and now my kids have a new beloved pet! My three year old son and the chick have really bonded. It's amazing! He calls it "Henny Penny", even though at a month old, I'm not sure of the sex. It's a Bantam of some sort... Dad is a Serama and mama is either a frizzle or Serama. I never knew how affectionate chickens could be!

Now I want to find the chick a female buddy. My daughter loves silkie bantams. I'm in Bryan, TX. Anyone have silkies?

Thanks!
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Just a note for the future, you should never ever help a chick hatch. It is lucky she didn't die. Usually they will chirp for 2 days before they are ready to hatch. Then they pip, and it takes a lot of strength to pip, so they take a long break. The breaks can take 8 hours (or more). So, I just would never take that risk again, it is quite lucky she is okay, I am so glad she is! :) The only time you should help them out, is if they pipped incorrectly, and they no matter what, can not get out, which rarely happens.

And before I forget..
 
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Thanks, I appreciate the welcome from you both, and the advice. No worries, hatching chicks is not something I will ever do again! A friend who has chickens was concerned that the chick might have hatching troubles due to low humidity since I used no incubator. The egg was just out in the open under a lamp.

After much research, I followed the guide on this site: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching and took things really, really slow, leaving the chick to rest most of the time. All in all, the hatching took about 20 hrs. Again, I enjoy owning a chicken and plan to get a few more pullets, but hatching and breeding is OUT! ;)
 

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