May Hatch-a-Long!

[Roxannemc]

Farmer thats a darling photo of those yellow babies

 

[Farmer Viola]

I'm loving this first pic at one week! And just by looking, I would have been wrong on both counts if I guessed their sexes based on "body fullness" and the pullet looming over the rather submissively posed male. Hmmm...great shot! Adorable chicks.

ME TOO! thank you I was saying all along they were reversed sex of what they turned out to be. luckily you can sex SFs around 2 or 3 weeks, so it didn't last long. he is still a little bit timid, but I hope he will come into his own as he matures. he is so sweet !

They are really pretty! Are you going to breed them?

yes! I want to. I have a mixed flock currently, so I think the Fav rooster may be the new main rooster, in order to breed her to him exclusively

Ok guys, quick question. I just had a chick hatch and no others seem to want to hatch today. So the little guy is all lonely. I have a broody, do I put him under now or wait till more hatch? And how do I give him to my broody?

I agree with what Mahen said, and if you have more hatching then I would wait and do the introduction all together. sometimes adding in separate sections makes her think the 2nd group isn't hers. its good to add them first thing in the morning or at night. good luck!

 

[Mahen100]

What Roxanne said. Yup. Good luck, and may more hatch soon.

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Maybe more info would be helpful.  How long has your broody been sitting?  Are there eggs under her now?  Is she a Silky or other really gentle hen who has previously adopted newborns?  Somebody's gotta be first to hatch, IMHO.  For me, I might just think how happy the little guy is gonna be when another chick hatches to provide some company.

Edited to add my limited experience in a similar circumstance.

I once had a silky that would raise a puppy, I think, if I sat one under her.  More recently, I had a nice gentle hen who went broody....and I mean broody, upsetting the nesting boxes and refusing to go unbroody no matter how many times I put her out, separated her, did everything I had read to do.  (soo...  I ordered her three day old chicks to put under her.  I was letting them warm up good inside my house, and noticed one was less active and was getting sort of picked on.

I had set up everything for my "attempt" before dark.  The broody had been in a separate nest box locked in away from the flock for three days.  She had been given several infertile eggs (all I have) to set.  She was setting them.   Close to midnight, I snuck out there and very pickpocket-like...removed one egg and placed the one chick under her.  (chick was fine with it).  I stayed out of sight and peered through a crack-peephole for an hour.  The chick popped up under her wing, she turned her head and looked at it, and pecked toward it, disaprovingly.  She did not hurt it.  Later she sort of raised up and the three day old chick moved away from her in inches.  When I checked again when I got really sleepy, the chick was in the opposite end of the large nest...looked cold, and the hen was asleep on her eggs.  I took it back in the house with its hatch mates.  She didn't accept him, though she didn't hurt him.  A less gentle hen might have killed him as an "intruder."  She also failed to accept the batch when I tried to sneak all of them in the next night.  So, I have not had beginner's luck with that.

Oops sorry. She started sitting on Friday, she is my first broody and this is her first brood. Age isn't my absolute nicest but she isn't mean. She does growl but stops when she realizes its me, hasn't pecked but has a sharp peck. She's a bantam mottled Cochin raised by me from a chick.

Thank you

 

[Farmer Viola]

Farmer thats a darling photo of those yellow babies

aww ty!

also want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH @Deb B who kindly offered to make my egg weight loss chart into this lovely graph!!!

...day 19... no pips and no wiggles, though I have checked many times!

 

[Mahen100]

WOW...that is one professional looking chart! Whoo hoo! Now save it, that will be a great guide next time you do your own.

 

[Farmer Viola]

but I dunno how!

I HEAR CHEEPING!!!!!!!!!

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

but I dunno how!

I HEAR CHEEPING!!!!!!!!!

Not joined the thread, been busy but just finishing Rouen ducklings 6 (possibly a 7th, 1 left to dry out if it can). And my 2+ dozen BYM and 10 BA (Or 12) are just starting in other LG. Have some more ducks due the 24th and chicken eggs due the 30th. Happy hatching.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Quote: Oh okay. Tell me how it all goes.

 

[Cynthia12]

but I dunno how!

I HEAR CHEEPING!!!!!!!!!

Always exciting!