My broody Cuckoo Maran hen has been sitting on a clutch of fertile eggs for the last 19 days. Last night, during bed check, I heard some peeping from one of the eggs. This morning, Day 19 to be exact, I heard the other hens singing the egg song outside my window at 7:30am. I heard some more singing at 10:00 am when I went to check on them. Inside the coop, this is who I saw:
I think this chick hatched in early in the morning. Nearby there was a very wet, broken egg. Some chriping from underneath mom's left wing displayed a still damp newborn Barred Rock chick. From the dark coloring of both babies, I am assuming both are girls. Not bad for two days early. Needless to say, I have added a chick waterer and feeder into the nest box for the babies. At the moment, the babies don't seem to want to stray from mom's feathers and are doing a lot of sleeping.
Will mom show them how to drink from the water or will I need to teach them? Also, are hen hatched eggs normally this early?
I think this chick hatched in early in the morning. Nearby there was a very wet, broken egg. Some chriping from underneath mom's left wing displayed a still damp newborn Barred Rock chick. From the dark coloring of both babies, I am assuming both are girls. Not bad for two days early. Needless to say, I have added a chick waterer and feeder into the nest box for the babies. At the moment, the babies don't seem to want to stray from mom's feathers and are doing a lot of sleeping.
Will mom show them how to drink from the water or will I need to teach them? Also, are hen hatched eggs normally this early?
