Broody Buff Orp Hen Hatches Two Chicks (so far)

[New Flockman]

Our lead hen, Aunt Bea, just hatched (mere hours ago) two chicks. Daddy is a Black Austalorpe Roo named Max. We are so proud!

She started setting an egg of her own on 23 June. A couple of days later we added two (presumably fertile) eggs from our Barred Rock hens, Big Rock and Little Rock. The chicks look like Barred Rocks and not what we imagine a mix between an Australorpe and a Buff would look like. I treid candling the eggs. The two Rock eggs were too thick shelled for me to see fertility (at least with the lites I have) but I could see into Bea's egg pretty well and to my untrained eye, I would say it was not fertile. This morning I went out to collect eggs and saw no chicks. At noon, I went out again... two chicks! Can't see them well in my pic because she is very protective and pretty much at Defcon 1. The chicks sensed this and were pulled in tight. In deference to the new mom and her babes, I opted to disturb her the least by just snapping the one pic (forgot to set the camera on aperture priority to get all in focus). We have hopes for the 3rd egg but who knows. It would be nice if her own egg hatched but I guess she will be broody again.

What a great day!

 

[Peaches Lee]

Congratulations! I just had an Easter Egger hatch out three that I can see, she ended up collecting thirteen on a chair! Luckily I was able to move her before hatch day, silly girl.

 

[New Flockman]

Thanks.

Chicks are doing well. Bea still setting that last egg but the chicks have explored a bit outside the nest box and I saw them partaking at the chick waterer we put in the coop... right outside the nest box. Signs they might have gone for the chick starter nearby also and I saw Bea beak-feeding one a tidbit of sommat from the nest.

The other hens are so far leaving Bea and chicks alone and Max, the Daddy-Roo, comes a-running when Bea protests too vocally at our presence. It seems he is in full Daddy mode. We are not doing this "right" according to many opinions... not isolating the chicks or the mother and chicks from the flock (six adult birds total). We were caught kinda flat footed with this but we know our flock and Bea is by far the meanest, most obnoxious hen we have and rules with an iron beak. The others (two Barred Rocks, two smallish RI Reds) are very mild and meek so we don't foresee trouble. If it were one of the other hens on the nest, and Bea out and about, we'd worry. Interestingly, the hens have now taken to roosting on their open air perch while Max roosts inside the coop with Bea and chicks. This is so much fun but we do chew our nails a bit for many reasons.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Congrats on the chicks!

 

[New Flockman]

Another update: Chicks are doing very well, eating, drinking and pooping. Bea is spending a lot of time off the nest showing them around the coop and that 3rd egg has not hatched. Tomorrow will be the fourth day after the other eggs hatched, so we'll take the egg away then for dissection. Bea is still keeping the chicks in the coop and there has been a lot of accommodation and adaptation in the flock so the other hens can come in there and get their egglaying done. The other hens don't seem very interested in the chicks and we haven't seen the Max-the-Roo interact with them much.

Will post pics when I can but they are very interesting in color. In looking at the remaining egg and looking at the chicks, we think one of the hatched eggs was Bea's, so we have one chick that is a mix of an Australorpe Roo and a Buff Orp hen. The other is a mix between a Barred Rock hen and the Australorpe Roo. One is black on top and grey on chest, bottom and belly, with black beak and feet (though the toes are lighter in color) and dark eyes. the other is more dark all over but with some light streaks. Be interesting to see how they develop. We would like them both to be hens and that would fill out our flock. If cockerels, we will probably raise them (or him) as meat birds. That will be tough to do but doable.

 

[New Flockman]

Here is a pic this morning of the Chix. One a Mix of the Buff Orp you see and Australorpe and a Barred Rock and the Australorpe. On day four after these hatched, she is still sitting the last egg but comes out into the coop for long periods.

 

[New Flockman]

More pics. Notice the black & white one has black & orange legs. The darker one is larger too. Don't know if that means anything.

 

[Peaches Lee]

Oh, they are so precious!

 

[New Flockman]

Another Update:

Mom brought the chix out this morning for the first time. That's 10 days after hatching. Here they are in their yard interactinv with Papa Max and with the Barred Rocked that is (possibly) the mother to one of them. That hen, Little Rock, has shown a fair bit of (friendly) interest in the chix so I wonder if they "know" on some level that the chick from one of their transplanted eggs is theirs.



This is their first foray into the world! Mom is nervous and the chix stay close.



Max (the black roo) stayed close for a while. This Barred Rock hen, Little Rock, has been paying a lot of attention to the chix. We wonder if the chick with whom she is having a little eye contact with is hers. We put two Barred Rock eggs under Bea as she started setting, so it could well be this chick is hers. We wonder if hens can tell these sorts of things.



Magnificent Max! He isn't a huge Australorpe Roo but he is very protective but still quite good natured and easy for us to deal with. We have seen him attack Red Tail hawks that have swooped down into the chicken yard. He is ever-vigilant and his head swivels like a fighter pilot watching for the "Hun From the Sun." His tail is somewhat truncated from an incident with a heating lamp this winter.