My broody hen hatched ducklings! UPDATE: Chicks are hatching! w/PICS!

[Cowgirl71]

Look what I found in the broody box this morning...

I think I already have a favorite, LOL. The one taking a three second nap is so sweet! The other one likes to hide behind momma, and I had to keep bringing him/her to the front for pictures! But they're both so cute!

The ducklings are a Black Swedish/Khaki Campbell cross. The hen was/is sitting on 3 duck eggs and 7 chicken eggs. The ducks were due tomorrow, and the chicks are due the day after. I don't know why they hatched so early...
I'm SO excited!!!

This is the first time I've ever had a broody hatch eggs, and they're my first duckies!

P.S. The hen now has a name... "Ducky."

 

[IwannaBEaMERMAID]

WOW !

did you have to wet the eggs everyday to keep humidity up??

Congrats on the ducks !!

 

[ssbs]

That is just adorable!! I wonder if momma will be odded out by the peeping chicks, since she's been hearing little quackers. The chicks might have an idenity crisis

 

[Cowgirl71]

Quote:
Nope! I've heard of doing that, but didn't. I figured it would make a mess, with moldy hay, muddy eggs, etc. The main thing I did was excercise self-control to NOT look under her for pips and chicks. Which was SO HARD. Because it's her body of course that's producing the humidity...

Quote:
The ducklings are actually making peeping noises. I was expecting "quack-quack-quack," but they're "peep-peep-peep," very much like chicks. Maybe because they were hatched under a hen? Or maybe they'll start quacking later... I hope so!

 

[xyresicchick]

all ducks peep like chicks when they're babies. just like chickens, they get their real voices as they get older!

 

[ctaynton]

This is so awesome! I recently had a broody silkie hatch out 6 ducklings! It got interesting when the ducks were bigger than her and still followed her around single file! It was my first broody hatch and ducks also! I never misted my eggs either and they all hatched with no problems! We only kept two of them and are hoping they are both females. I will try to post a pic of mine. It is pretty cute to see the chicken sitting on ducklings!

 

[redneck]

Just wait till some of her babies head for the water, She will have a fit.

 

[ctaynton]

This is what I found one morning in the brooder box. There was one more underneath her.

Here there are following her around.

Here are the two that we kept. They live with the chickens.

 

[gryeyes]

Oh my - cuteness overload!

 

[Cowgirl71]

I went down to check on them at 10:00am, and found her off the nest with the two ducklings.

So I put her and the ducklings back on the nest, and eventually got a brooder ready for them in the basement. So at 5:30pm, I went to collect eggs and ducklings.

And guess what I saw... A hen OFF the nest

with... THREE ducklings! So I put the three ducklings in the brooder, and momma's back on the nest now, to finish the chicken eggs.

ctaynton: That is SO cute how they follow her around! Especially 'cause they're almost as big as she is, and look totally different! But to them, she's "Mom."