Blooie's Blankie Fort

[Blooie]

We'll grab some snacks and plop your hiney down in the fort with a coloring book!

 

[User395221]

Have you seen anymore popping out?

I've seen a couple of the babies come out. One's sort of two-tone, a bit yellow and a bit black, not sure if she's polish or silkie.

Unfortunately, one was dead in the shell. It was the one that looked like it had been pecked around, but there was no movement. I think maybe one of the "mums" pecked it around, not the chick, because the baby's beak wasn't there where it had been pecked. I ended up peeling some shell away and he was dead. The two dark (maran?) eggs haven't shown any signs of hatching, how long do you wait? Yesterday was 21 days. Another I thought wasn't doing much, but it has a little hole. There's another that doesn't seem to be doing much, but I'm not sure that it isn't one of the other girls' (the writing on the fertile ones sort of wore off over time). Hopefully, the baby will get to work and come out. Most of everyone is hiding out underneath, I can't really do a head count to check that nobody's been squashed or anything bad under there.

I put some budgie feeders in the nest box. The mums were really thirsty. I had set up the waterer just outside, but they obviously haven't even been getting up to have a drink. They are very dedicated. I'm impressed. I was worried that the babies didn't have water if they couldn't get out, and the mums aren't getting up to show them to the water. Will they just keep sitting there until everything is hatched or I take them away?

(one of my other girls is pancaked in the next nest box along, I hope she's just supporting the new mums and hasn't started her own clucky session.)

EDIT: more photos

 

[aart]

I'd wait until day 23 or until the moms get up....were all the eggs put under at the same time.....or are you dealing with a staggered hatch?

 

[User395221]

I'd wait until day 23 or until the moms get up....were all the eggs put under at the same time.....or are you dealing with a staggered hatch?

Thanks. They were all put there on the same day at the same time BUT in my ignorance I probably got too many to fit, with the few bigger ones included. It was lucky that Flossie joined in to keep them all covered up. It may be possible that some didn't "get started" until a bit later on, when Flossie joined in and covered them up (hopefully they didn't get started and then get cold ).

It occurred to me that they will not all fit in that nest box (comfortably, at least) for weeks while the babies need to sit under the mums. What should I do, or will the mums figure it out and move out into the bigger area in the coop?. I've got some portable nest boxes I could set up in the coop area (sides, no front, mesh at the back), but the whole "2-mum and all the kids" family wouldn't fit into one together as they are now. Should I set a couple of those up for them to move to if they want to?

Thanks for the support, everyone, I'm sorry to hijack your thread Blooie. I should start a new one with my "dumb" questions.

 

[Blooie]

Are you kidding? Did you READ some of the questions I posted? . Moms don't "sit" on the chicks - after a surprisingly short time they are running all over the place and just diving under her for a quick warm up or if they get spooked, and that's usually just a few at a time. They do burrow under her at night, but the moms can figure it all out in short order. Just let the girls do what they know how to do.

 

[User395221]

Just let the girls do what they know how to do.

hahaha, thanks. I'm fussing about like a "mother hen" more than the girls are. LOL The mums are so sweet. That little black one kept trying to peck Flossie's eyeball and she just sat there and let it.

 

[User395221]

I've just gone out there to check on things. There were 6 chicks "out the front", so I know there are at least 6 survivors/hatchlings. There was another broken silkie (?) egg and one of the brown maran(?) egg shells was there, but no sign of the baby. Hopefully, it was born alive and is under Josephine somewhere. Flossie had one egg under her that didn't seem to be doing anything and looked like a "normal" egg, so I looked at it with the torch and it was laid by someone else, it wasn't one of the fertile ones, so I took it away. I don't think she's got any more under her, Jose still has a brown one (with no signs of activity). Hopefully something will happen or not today and it'll all be over. I hope the newest ones are ok in there. It would be nice if one of the marans makes it, I'd be interested to see how it grows up (and they supposedly have nice eggs if I were lucky enough to get a girl survivor)

 

[Blooie]

I was in a great mood until a little bit ago. I lost a Silkie...my little roo Q-Tip had an accident and it appears like he broke his neck. It was my fault, too, because I was in the middle of a project, left a piece of wood propped up against the side of the run while I went to get a small chain, and somehow it came down on him. I didn't know it right away because I got sidetracked while getting the chain. Can't fix it, can't have "do-overs" but I'd give my eye teeth if it hadn't happened. <sigh>

 

[Jessimom]

I was in a great mood until a little bit ago. I lost a Silkie...my little roo Q-Tip had an accident and it appears like he broke his neck. It was my fault, too, because I was in the middle of a project, left a piece of wood propped up against the side of the run while I went to get a small chain, and somehow it came down on him. I didn't know it right away because I got sidetracked while getting the chain. Can't fix it, can't have "do-overs" but I'd give my eye teeth if it hadn't happened. <sigh>

I'm so sorry Blooie!! Accidents happen and that doesn't sound like you could have every anticipated it. The likelihood of it falling at the exact time Q-tip was in the way is minuscule.

 

[scottcaddy]

So Sorry about the Oh-Sh*t

I have left wood and tools in pens/runs with birds for just a minute, get side-tracked and got back way later to find everything on the floor. It happens

Scott