Recent content by nikchick

  1. nikchick

    Update on staggered hatch

    I love silkies! Ours are just a backyard mix. Mom is a pure Cuckoo marans and dad is who knows what. We had a full cuckoo marans rooster, but he passed away. Not two days later, my husband woke me up early one morning to look at the chickens. Lo and behold, a rooster had just showed up. He is...
  2. nikchick

    Update on staggered hatch

    I posted a few weeks ago about our broody having a staggered hatch. Here they are today. It's pretty easy to tell which came first to last by size. Mom cares for all babies the same and despite the fact its siblings are almost feathered out while it is just not getting feathers, the little one...
  3. nikchick

    Staggered hatch, hen won't leave nest a week later.

    She's a cuckoo maran around 8-9 months and started laying around 6. All the eggs came from her, along with her 2 sisters (same age). Chicks have varied in size. One hen lays small-medium sized eggs, one lays large eggs, and the other lays average. They are healthy and active so far. The...
  4. nikchick

    Staggered hatch, hen won't leave nest a week later.

    So far she's been a very good mother. We now have a brand new chick under her, born 6 days after the first to hatch!
  5. nikchick

    Staggered hatch, hen won't leave nest a week later.

    They buzz around mom like bugs on water. They don't go to far from her, but they do come out of the nest and they seem to enjoy her daily trip of the nest the most. Mom on the other hand makes her get back her cluck when the go outside the nest. This is her first time going broody and she went...
  6. nikchick

    Staggered hatch, hen won't leave nest a week later.

    I just candled them again and figured out why she hasn't come off of them. I caught a few late death eggs that I had to discard, which took her down to only 4 viable eggs, but one of those eggs has a chick very obviously pipping into its air cell right this moment.
  7. nikchick

    Staggered hatch, hen won't leave nest with chicks a week later.

    So, I just candled eggs again and now see why she didn't want to get off the other eggs. One is very clearly pipping into its air cell at this moment. Just goes to prove Brooody is much smarter than I gave her credit for.
  8. nikchick

    Staggered hatch, hen won't leave nest with chicks a week later.

    The eggs left all seem viable, but about a week behind based on air cell development. That's what is making it so hard to make a decision. I know I'm culling the chicks in the shell if remove them but I'm leaving them to be behind in maturity and potentially picked by older chicks if I don't...
  9. nikchick

    Staggered hatch, hen won't leave nest a week later.

    No, all the eggs aren't that old yet. The rest of the unhatched bunch would be due to hatch next week. Because it took me about a week to realize her sisters were laying eggs on top of her. I've candled them and they are right where they should be based on the air cell. I'm torn between removing...
  10. nikchick

    Staggered hatch, hen won't leave nest with chicks a week later.

    Our broody started hatching out chicks last sunday. Between Sunday and Wednesday, 4 hatched out, but even now, on Friday, she won't leave the other eggs that have not hatched out. I have put out a waterer and chick feed for the chick's and broody still comes off the nest once a day. My question...
  11. nikchick

    Staggered hatch, hen won't leave nest a week later.

    Our broody started hatching out chicks last sunday. Between Sunday and Wednesday, 4 hatched out, but even now, on Friday, she won't leave the other eggs that have not hatched out. I have put out a waterer and chick feed for the chick's and broody still comes off the nest once a day. My question...
  12. nikchick

    Are they all roosters?

    I'm certain. At the time of lay, the only rooster that was mature enough was my red rooster. Here are the biological parents of the chicks.
  13. nikchick

    Are they all roosters?

    I figured that might be what caused it, but wasn't sure. We think she is a pretty girl, too. Her name is Dumpling and she was the first chicken we purchased. I wish her eggs would have made it to hatch day, but it wasn't meant to be. Maybe next time.
  14. nikchick

    Are they all roosters?

    This is the best I could get. (Excuse their living situation. Mom kept kicking out all of the bedding). You can only see two of the three, but the third looks just like the solid black faced chick in the picture. The one closest to the front is the one that is different.
  15. nikchick

    Are they all roosters?

    I'll try. Mom isn't too happy with me getting too close to her chickies.
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