- Mar 15, 2013
- 45
- 6
- 24
Random chicken egg hatching question – can an egg hatch itself?
Let me explain. I have a nursery pen, where I usually let my broodys raise their peeps until they are old enough to free range and roost. Also, in that pen, I keep a bantam cochin rooster, Scrappy, who is on the disabled list after a possum attack, and his girlfriend, a bantam old English game hen, Lily (because everyone needs love).
Right now, besides Scrappy and Lily, I have 3 mamas and their collective peeps, all happily coexisting. I have been trying to get the mamas to take the babies out during the day for some free ranging, so today, as I was trying to shoo mamas and peeps out, I noticed one peep that looked not so great. Let me stress that I am the Peep Police, so I was shocked when I found this little guy looking so bad. Usually, I catch things early, but this peep had bad pasty butt, his eyes were crusted shut and he was half the size and weight of the other peeps. I was shocked! What was wrong with him and how could I have over looked this?
I immediately removed him from the pen, took him inside, and proceeded to clean his backside and eyes. I was able to get him to drink, but he would not eat. I took him back out and set him under a broody hen that I have on standby for some chicks coming next week. I checked him an hour later, and sadly, he was dead.
Post mortem, I examined the little peep closer and made some conclusions:
1. Compared to the other peeps in the nursery pen, he was about half of their size and weight.
2. Looking at his wings, he appeared to be about 2 days old. The other clutch of chicks in the nursery are almost 2 weeks old. Big difference in the size, appearance and feathering of the two (AKA – it’s not like you can confuse a two day chick for a two week old chick)
So here is where I am at – where is the heck did this little guy come from. The three mamas have their hands full with their own broods and aren't sitting on anything. Lily has been laying eggs and is not sitting on a nest in there. The door to the pen stays closed, because Scrappy likes to pick fights with the other roosters. WHERE DID MYSTERY PEEP COME FROM???
Here is my theory:
We deep litter here 1. For heat in the winter to avoid heat lamps and 2. Because I hate coop cleaning. Since I have peep-a-paloosa in full swing and we have nights still going into the 40s, I haven’t totally shoveled out the baby pen yet.
Investigation revealed today that about 6 inches down into the baby pen, its warm, like 90 degrees warm. Warmer sure, the farther you go down.
Enter the lovely Lily and her dashing Prince Scrappy. As Lily gets all of Scrappy’s, uh, “affection” – I think it’s safe to say her eggs are fertile. I usually get one egg a day from her, but sometimes, not. On those not days, maybe it wasn't that she didn't lay one, it was that she laid an egg, and it got buried or over looked.
Fast forward - 3 broody mama hens scratching up a storm for their babies. Said fertile egg gets buried to just the right depth where the temperature is right and incubation starts. Twenty-something days later and - Crack, crack – zipper out…only the poor peep finds himself not under a warm, fluffy mama – but rather buried alive. Sadly, he is uncovered, by the same mamas that rolled his egg under the soil, too late to be saved.
Thoughts? I mean, could this really have happened? I have no other explanation at this point where this poor mystery peep came from.
Let me explain. I have a nursery pen, where I usually let my broodys raise their peeps until they are old enough to free range and roost. Also, in that pen, I keep a bantam cochin rooster, Scrappy, who is on the disabled list after a possum attack, and his girlfriend, a bantam old English game hen, Lily (because everyone needs love).
Right now, besides Scrappy and Lily, I have 3 mamas and their collective peeps, all happily coexisting. I have been trying to get the mamas to take the babies out during the day for some free ranging, so today, as I was trying to shoo mamas and peeps out, I noticed one peep that looked not so great. Let me stress that I am the Peep Police, so I was shocked when I found this little guy looking so bad. Usually, I catch things early, but this peep had bad pasty butt, his eyes were crusted shut and he was half the size and weight of the other peeps. I was shocked! What was wrong with him and how could I have over looked this?
I immediately removed him from the pen, took him inside, and proceeded to clean his backside and eyes. I was able to get him to drink, but he would not eat. I took him back out and set him under a broody hen that I have on standby for some chicks coming next week. I checked him an hour later, and sadly, he was dead.
Post mortem, I examined the little peep closer and made some conclusions:
1. Compared to the other peeps in the nursery pen, he was about half of their size and weight.
2. Looking at his wings, he appeared to be about 2 days old. The other clutch of chicks in the nursery are almost 2 weeks old. Big difference in the size, appearance and feathering of the two (AKA – it’s not like you can confuse a two day chick for a two week old chick)
So here is where I am at – where is the heck did this little guy come from. The three mamas have their hands full with their own broods and aren't sitting on anything. Lily has been laying eggs and is not sitting on a nest in there. The door to the pen stays closed, because Scrappy likes to pick fights with the other roosters. WHERE DID MYSTERY PEEP COME FROM???
Here is my theory:
We deep litter here 1. For heat in the winter to avoid heat lamps and 2. Because I hate coop cleaning. Since I have peep-a-paloosa in full swing and we have nights still going into the 40s, I haven’t totally shoveled out the baby pen yet.
Investigation revealed today that about 6 inches down into the baby pen, its warm, like 90 degrees warm. Warmer sure, the farther you go down.
Enter the lovely Lily and her dashing Prince Scrappy. As Lily gets all of Scrappy’s, uh, “affection” – I think it’s safe to say her eggs are fertile. I usually get one egg a day from her, but sometimes, not. On those not days, maybe it wasn't that she didn't lay one, it was that she laid an egg, and it got buried or over looked.
Fast forward - 3 broody mama hens scratching up a storm for their babies. Said fertile egg gets buried to just the right depth where the temperature is right and incubation starts. Twenty-something days later and - Crack, crack – zipper out…only the poor peep finds himself not under a warm, fluffy mama – but rather buried alive. Sadly, he is uncovered, by the same mamas that rolled his egg under the soil, too late to be saved.
Thoughts? I mean, could this really have happened? I have no other explanation at this point where this poor mystery peep came from.
