Ended 2013 Easter Hatch-a-long Contest #6 "Broodies and Their Babies!!!"

[karimw]

Here's my white EE and her babies. She raised all these babies for over nine months.

Too funny!

 

[karimw]

Entry 1
Super Broody - Queen Anne with hatchlings



Entry #2
Queen Anne with 3 week olds

 

[Tammy N]

Mine still sitting asap they hatch LOL

 

[tadpole98]

'Mrs. Hide a Nest dustbathing with her chicks'

This hen deserves a medal of stubbornness, you will see why if you read her story:

All through December we had this hen, who refused to come in at night. and after so many nights of unsuccessfully chasing her for hours trying to get her to go in, we let her be. I had never related those behaviors to a hen who, every once in awhile, popped out from under a wheelbarrow in the morning. I always saw her after I had let the chickens out, so I thought she was just a hen who liked to go over there in the morning.

Then, only January 8th, 2013, I understand it ALL.

On january 7th, I went down to the coop to give the chickens compost, which is always very hectic. I dumped it, and went to give a bit to Fluffy, my cochin who is crippled (another very long story, that poor hen has gone through everything), I kept thinking i heard peeping, but that was understandable as I had a one track mind: chicks! As I was going back out through the door, there were two little chicks freaking out without any mother.

and my cat! my cat was about to swipe them right in front of me. So I quickly picked them up and wandered, 'how did they get here? who is their mother? I dont remember letting anybody hatch, its too early in the year.' still confused, as nobody had come to claim them, I ran them up to the house and set up a brooder. I noticed how many bugs they had on them. you would hold them for not even a minute and have ten bugs just wandering off on your shirt.

So I popped a bowl of wood ash in their place and fluffed them up. At this time I did not know who was the mom, and where she kid her nest.

Night:
Puzzled ol' me went down to lock the chickens up. Nobody was acting like they had just lost two chicks. nobody looked like they just sat on a nest for 20 days. Going back home i decided to look in one more place for her nest. UNDER AN UPTURNED WHEELBARROW, lined with fertilizer bags, surrounded by straw (very warm). DING DING DING! we have a winner! there sat 22 more untouched eggs, two eggshells popped open, and a boatload of bugs. I grabbed them and put them in the incubator hoping if any were still alive they could hatch. One did, however did not make it very long.

In the morning, I decided I should give momma hen one last chance to claim her chicks. I grabbed them and stuck them out in the middle of the barn. Thank goodness they were cold, they cheeped so loudly momma hen came over and went insta-broody on them. sure enough it was the hen who had stayed out, and popped out of the wheelbarrow every morning.

she got a coating of wood ash for the bugs (and so did the rest of the hens), her own suit just for her and her chicks, and her own little box to dust in. Although once her chicks were a week old they got to venture out into the real world.



this is them the night they were separated from their mom. (not for contest) the darker colored one died last week. It just went missing one night.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Too funny!

X100! Poor mom! XD

 

[Chickenfan4life]

I betcha everyone's gonna enter this! Who doesn't want the rarest of the rare from Greenfire Farms, for crying out loud? I mean, I don't have a chance in the universe of winning this, but I can dream, right?

Greenfire Farms... better start saving my pennies and dimes and nickels and quarters. LOL! Anyone wanna join in, and start their own Greenfire Farms bank? XD

 

[Gardeningmama]

This is Betty, my Serama hen, and her baby from this summer.

 

[cherylcohen]

Abby my speckled sussex RIP, best mother there ever was...

 

[Barefoot FarmGa]

 

[Happy Chooks]

After some questions, I clarified the rules based on photoshop. People were asking about cropping, etc. That is fine. We just don't want fake things added to the picture that were not originally in the picture.

Hope this clarifies the rules for everyone.