- Feb 29, 2012
- 18
- 2
- 69
We went on a fishing trip a little over 3 weeks ago. I asked my brother-in-law to house sit and keep the chickens and dogs fed/watered. Upon our return, I found one of our 1 year old hens broody and sitting on 5 eggs. (Having a Roo I had a feeling they were fertilized.) My other 1 yr old hen was broody in March and hatched a peep that passed away and is now raising an adopted peep.Back to the story.
I decided to let her keep the eggs. I candled them and found all 5 to be fertilized. Last week I re-candled and found 1 had stopped developing and removed it.
I first egg hatched either over night Wednesday or early Thursday. My husband found her in the bottom of the hen house when he left for work @ 7 a.m. She was chirping loud and the momma hen was pecking at her. I placed the peep inside a small cage within the coop, so mom could hear the peep, but not harm her. Within a few hours peep number two had hatched. Momma hen seemed much more calm now, so I returned the first peep to her. She accepted them both.
Two eggs hatched on Thursday. Friday, a third either began to hatch and passed or the egg broke open and that peep passed away. It is now Sunday and the hen is doing a good job caring for her two peeps, but the forth egg has not hatched yet. I re-candled last evening and saw the peep still moving inside.
Fingers crossed it hatches soon, before she stops sitting and exclusively cares for her new peeps.
* Mom is a Production Red, dad is a Bantam Buff Cochin.
