2009 is The Year of the Broodies....and ANOTHER One...(PICS)

[speckledhen]

Suz!!! Glad to see you here. Missed you around BYC. How is Jess?

 

[basicliving]

SpeckledHen - it has been the Year of the Broodies around here too! I have had 6 broodies so far this year too - and 2 of those went broody and hatched out chicks twice. I am actually thrilled about it - except for the hatch before last, which left me with SEVEN cockerels out of the nine that hatched. *sigh*

 

[speckledhen]

And the broody trend continues! Wow, so many hormonal women this year, LOL. Glenda wanted off the nest desperately this morning to poop and we had to cover her eggs up with a warm towel (55 degrees). I took the opportunity to look them over and three of the four EE eggs are pipped,which just leaves one EE and one Orp egg to pip. Day 21 starts at about 5 p.m. tonight.

 

[speckledhen]

My other broody, Dusty, broke an egg under her, today on Day 5. So, we had to remove the nest, lightly wipe the outside of the other eggs with a warm, damp cloth and re-do her a nest. Glenda has one chick hatched, one zipping and two pipped.
Tux is still sitting on air and this would be hatch day for her, too. Sure hope she snaps out of it.

 

[speckledhen]

First baby pics! Glenda has one black and one blue barred EE chick and three pipped eggs, including the only BBS Orp egg she had. Here's a pic. Poor Glenda is just now starting to grow in feathers on her head and neck after a terrible molt, so forgive her appearance.

 

[crtrlovr]

must be something in the air... I've had 2 broody guineas (who have since gladly abandoned their eggs to the tender loving care of the 2 broody silkies), one broody OEGB BBred, one Australorp, and one RIR, all sitting on a bucketload of eggs... 3 of the ones under the BBRed hatched but I found the chicks dead when I went back later to check on them. (I suspect she is killing them; they appeared fine right after hatch.) Do you think she is killing them deliberately or accidentally by stepping on them? I took one other that hatched away from her and put it under a silkie. It was fine; I went back 2 hrs. later and it was under the silkie among the eggs, but dead.

any suggestions?

 

[crtrlovr]

forgot to thank Ewesheep and speckledhen for posting their pretty baby pix! ah, the love...

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
hard to say. She could be killing them or just smashing them by accident. I've heard of all sorts of things like that happening.

Oh, I checked the eggs under Glenda closer and one of them I thought was pipped is not. So, two EEs and one BBS Orp are pipped. Day 21 just started about an hour ago.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Speckledhen, I take back what I said - I don't think you'll be need a Silkie any time soon

 

[speckledhen]

Yup, I'm full up on broodies this year! Glenda's third chick just hatched, but no idea on the color yet. THe Orp is still at the pip stage and still waiting on the last EE to pip.