Adoptive momma and chicks

megshenhut

Songster
14 Years
Jun 21, 2007
485
12
246
Central Colorado
Here are a couple pics of my Cuckoo marans hen with her chicks that I hatched in a bator and gave her.

2760_dsc00654.jpg

2760_dsc00655.jpg
 
They are mostly all mutts. One roo is an EE and one is an Australorpe. Moms are Welsummers, Australorpes, EEs, Buff Orpingtons and Cuckoo Marans.
 
She is a very good momma except she bites me when I get too close.
big_smile.png
This was her first time to go broody and she took to these little ones just like she hatched them herself.
 
She had wooden eggs she was sitting on. She went broody about a week after I put these eggs in the bator so I gave her the wooden eggs to brood. After these hatched I gave her the babies and took the wooden ones away. I didn't have space for her to actually hatch her own and have these in a separate pen. Also having a momma teach and care for babies makes things so much easier. I have never lost a baby with a broody.
 
What great timing! I would love to know how you went about removing the wooden eggs and putting the new babies underneath her. She must have been a bit agitated? I would like to try this sometime...if any of my hens ever go broody...
 
Well, my babies hatched throughout the day. The first one had hatched that morning by 7:30. After dark, I took that one out to momma hen and left the other 8 in the bator. I checked on her before I went to bed and she seemed fine with the one. I got up early the next morning before daylight and checked on the one. It was fine, so I took the other 8 out and put under her and took the fake eggs away. I checked on her throughout the morning and she was fine and the babies were fine. She stayed on the nest for another day and then got out and starting showing her little ones the food and water and the rest is history. They will be 4 weeks old this coming Monday. I'll try to get some more pics.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom