December surprise!

[partsRheavy]

We have 2 "runaround" hens that I don't count as members of our normal henhouse flock.. I basically ignore them unless they steal TOO much at food from the dish by the back door. One is tan and one is brown. They hid their eggs.. Their boyfriends used to be some leghorns that um....went to Leghorn heaven back in August or so. I've never seen them hanging out at the henhouse or with the 2 adult roosters there.

Hadn't seen the brown one in a while but basically thought nothing of it.

Today I had to tend to some young chickens that are in a back yard cage (away from the henhouse). Noticed a movement in the old broken-down greenhouse where the chickens used to live a few years ago. Went to look and there is the little brown "runaround" hen --------- with yellow. black, and reddish babies!!! Gave them all some chick starter and a water dish and saw 6 and then 7 little ones!!!!!

Obviously the current roosters get around a little more than I thought they did!

This is my first experience with a broody mama. I'm going to keep an eye on them and supply chick starter/water. I'm worried about predators but have seen a lot fewer signs of raccoons recently than back in July and August.

I have a box with bedding and a brooder lamp ready in case I feel things might go wrong. However Mama Hen is better at temperature regulation this time of year than I am.

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Congrats!!!

 

[Cats Critters]

Congrats on the suprise babies!

any pictures of the proud mother and her brood?

 

[partsRheavy]

I'll try to find the adapter to upload a pic or two....found it...now I gotta upload them. I didn't get all of them in a pic yet - just a couple.

 

[partsRheavy]

This is when I discovered them before I gave chick starter/water.

 

[drumstick diva]

what a pretty momma

 

[real_redhead]

Very cute!

 

[Mahonri]

Awesome!

 

[partsRheavy]

Thanks! I guess she's at least part Rhode Island red although her eggs are whitish. I know little about her. I've been too busy raising young Jersey Giants and Australorps the past few months to really pay attention to this girl. She normally roosts in a tree LOL.

She's one of two who never integrated with the henhouse flock which has 16 layers and around 11 Jersey Giants that are 12 weeks old and a bout 17 Australorps that are 9 weeks.

I know for a fact that she LOVES and probably misses Leghorn boys!! However there haven't been any Leghorn boys around lately..

 

[Happytat]

WOW! Fantastic! I cannot beilieve some hached in DECEMBER! But, I also didn't beilieve a chick would hatch in October, till it did........ Your hen is gorgeous!(and so are the chicks I saw) Are they inside a run? If possible I would put them in one. If they are not fenced in at all, predators are more likely too attack and if they are in a building, mama cannot teach them "chickin stuff"

. Make sure they have some warm bedding. I used hay, and it was very effective. I don't know if you will need a brooder lamp, beacause I had only one chick hatch and our rather large mama could easily keep it warm. If you are seeing signs of Racoons, I would move them into a building, with or without a run, until they are a little older. My hen didn't have a run and, once the chick feathered out, she did just fine foraging and living with our adult hens and our roo too.