Ella2025's Experiment Broody Hen Hatch-A-Long

[GodLovesU]

They are so cute!

 

[ChickenChick46]

Pepper has yellow/white legs and Saffron has slate/black legs. None have feathered legs as expected but both look to have beards and muffs. Pepper actually looks exactly like Eggo (an EE that might be it's mother) minus underside color.
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Here are photos of Eggo. She lays a blue egg which Pepper came from View attachment 4223367
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Goodness they're so adorable!!

 

[ella2025]

Agreed. Wait until night and don't show them to Bippy. Just slip them under her, preferably from behind where she can't see. You want her to think they hatched from the fake eggs. If you can manage to remove the fake eggs at the same time, even better.

I tried that last night. Only problem is I had a flashlight and upon slipping them under her she got off the nest, completely ignoring them, leaving them peeping loudly in the nest. I forgot it had to be dark, lol. This morning when the sun wasn't completely up I went with the chicks and put them under Bippy. Again she completely ignored them, made a ton of "grumpy door" noises, didn't peck them but didn't tuck them in either. After 10 minutes of that she jumped straight out of the nest trying hard to go out the door where I'm sitting and leaving the chicks there unattended. She was thrown into broody jail.

 

[ella2025]

I now have the chicks in my basement with a heating plate.

 

[ella2025]

Saffron and peppermint are dry and adorable. Saffron has some dry stuff (egg?) stuck on her back that make her look wet still and not as fluffy as Pepper, but I think it'll come off as she/he feathers in.

 

[ella2025]

I think this hatch would have had a 5/6 hatch rate if I started them in the incubator to start with or transferred them before any of them got cracked. I actually think the small egg size didn't make the chicks weaker than big eggs, or harder for them to come out of the egg. I would consider this experiment a success!

 

[ella2025]

I will update as they grow!

 

[WingItRanch]

Yay! Sorry Bibby wouldn't accept the babies but they're very cute and I'd still call this a success!

 

[ChickenChick46]

Saffron and peppermint are dry and adorable. Saffron has some dry stuff (egg?) stuck on her back that make her look wet still and not as fluffy as Pepper, but I think it'll come off as she/he feathers in.
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Oh my gosh they are the cutest! You must be such a proud mama!

 

[GreenJay]

Sorry Bippy didn't take to them, not all broodies make good mothers though and she is still pretty young.

And it was a good hatch! Are you going to set aside some eggs for the Halloween hatch-along?