I’m not Mother Nature, but..... My journey hatching broody and bator chicks

[aart]

I feel bad cause I let her off the nest yesterday.

It's fine.
She got up on her own right?

Congrats!!

 

[Mimi13]

It's fine.
She got up on her own right?

Congrats!!

Yes she did. She is being so good, just letting me stare at her. And then...wait for it. A little puff ball crawls out from underneath her.
My first feathered baby! I have no clue what kind of chickmutt it is, but I love it.

 

[WVduckchick]

Yes she did. She is being so good, just letting me stare at her. And then...wait for it. A little puff ball crawls out from underneath her.
My first feathered baby! I have no clue what kind of chickmutt it is, but I love it.
View attachment 1638647 View attachment 1638649 View attachment 1638650

 

[WVduckchick]

Now just wait till the others hatch and momma starts teaching them to eat and drink and peck around and dust bathe, etc etc. They are such fun to watch. You are going to love it!
Congrats!!

 

[Mimi13]

Now just wait till the others hatch and momma starts teaching them to eat and drink and peck around and dust bathe, etc etc. They are such fun to watch. You are going to love it!
Congrats!!

I know!

Thank you!

 

[Mimi13]

And I just got through checking on momma and baby again. Still just one little bit that I could tell. I noticed earlier though that one of the blue eggs had pipped. <little girl screams>

 

[Mimi13]

Just one last picture of my early, little chickmutt.

Here is the egg shell the chick was in. I want to say my SLW lays an egg that shade. It is the darkest brown egg I have right behind the BCM and Welsummer. But who knows!

 

[Mimi13]

Chick Alert and Update

Good news and bad news this morning.

Bad news first -
I went up to the coop way before sunrise, but I wasn’t quite early enough. One of the chicks had gotten over the side of the box and of course couldn’t get back. Totally my rookie fault and it definitely could have been avoided. In my estimation the chick hadn’t been out long, but 20-30 minutes was too long for his little body to withstand the cold temps. (Probably why it’s best not to do this in the winter, you reckon?) The temps got down into the mid 20’s last night, but it was in the mid 30’s in the coop. Still, way too cold for a chick.

So I quickly started doing what I should have done last night once I saw that one had hatched and another had pipped...prepare the area for baby chicks. What is it they say about hindsight? I took the bucket out of the Coke crate so now the chicks can run in and out with no ledge, no matter how small it may have looked to me. Then I put some Flock Fresh down over the sand in the coop and then put up barriers around the crate so the chicks couldn’t get out of their enclosure. Bear in mind, I wasn’t expecting this to take place until Saturday, Day 21. Right? I mean, chicks hatch in 21 days! Mother Nature taught me another valuable lesson: make sure everything is ready when you set the eggs. Don’t wait until they hatch. Just.In.Case. I just didn’t know. Lesson learned!

Now, the good news -
All of the chicks hatched and the three surviving chicks look good, as far as I can tell from their little heads sticking out from under momma. I will know more this afternoon once it warms up.

I had planned on moving her, the nest, and the eggs to their own little coop and run today, which is Day 20, but they threw me a curve ball instead. So, I guess I’ll be moving them today.

I will leave you with this sweet picture of two chickies.

 

[WVduckchick]

Chick Alert and Update

Good news and bad news this morning.

Bad news first -
I went up to the coop way before sunrise, but I wasn’t quite early enough. One of the chicks had gotten over the side of the box and of course couldn’t get back. Totally my rookie fault and it definitely could have been avoided. In my estimation the chick hadn’t been out long, but 20-30 minutes was too long for his little body to withstand the cold temps. (Probably why it’s best not to do this in the winter, you reckon?) The temps got down into the mid 20’s last night, but it was in the mid 30’s in the coop. Still, way too cold for a chick.

So I quickly started doing what I should have done last night once I saw that one had hatched and another had pipped...prepare the area for baby chicks. What is it they say about hindsight? I took the bucket out of the Coke crate so now the chicks can run in and out with no ledge, no matter how small it may have looked to me. Then I put some Flock Fresh down over the sand in the coop and then put up barriers around the crate so the chicks couldn’t get out of their enclosure. Bear in mind, I wasn’t expecting this to take place until Saturday, Day 21. Right? I mean, chicks hatch in 21 days! Mother Nature taught me another valuable lesson: make sure everything is ready when you set the eggs. Don’t wait until they hatch. Just.In.Case. I just didn’t know. Lesson learned!

Now, the good news -
All of the chicks hatched and the three surviving chicks look good, as far as I can tell from their little heads sticking out from under momma. I will know more this afternoon once it warms up.

I had planned on moving her, the nest, and the eggs to their own little coop and run today, which is Day 20, but they threw me a curve ball instead. So, I guess I’ll be moving them today.

I will leave you with this sweet picture of two chickies.
View attachment 1639304

Awwww darnit!! So sorry you lost one. I hate it when that happens... but it does... no matter how prepared you feel, they always seem to find something that you didn't foresee.

Glad the rest are doing well, and momma appears to be doing a great job!

P.S. -- A chick is not dead until it is "warm and dead". When they get cold, they slow their own heartrate, and can sometimes be slowly warmed with our hands or body heat, and surprisingly snap out of what seems like death. I've had it happen several times.

 

[Mimi13]

Here is a picture of the little one that didn’t make it. Very pretty coloration. It has a single comb and reminds me a lot of my Welsummer.

If I’m not mistaken, two of the remaining chicks have this dark color and the first one that hatched is a much lighter yellow.

I will get good pictures this afternoon.