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

[Sunny Side Up]

Congratulations on the hatch! I have a lot of mixed-breed bantams & standards who go broody. Under them I've hatched chicken eggs, duck eggs, chicken & duck eggs together, and even goose eggs. I drew the line at putting the snake's eggs under a broody hen to hatch. I've never misted the duck eggs with water, the hen seems to be able to provide sufficient humidity all by herself. Of course it helps that we live in swampy South Florida.

I had placed duck eggs under the broody hen and then at the same time exactly one week later I added chicken eggs to the clutch. Both the ducklings & the chicks hatched on the same day. The hen was kept in a small pen with all her hatchlings. The chicks would follow the hen and respond to her clucks, the ducklings would ignore her and go play in their pan of water. But they all would cuddle in together at night, even when the ducklings grew as big as their Mama bantam hen.

 

[Cowgirl71]

After seeing how a hen can hatch duck eggs, I've been thinking... I might try hatching some Guinea eggs under a hen. And a few goose eggs. Maybe even some turkey eggs... Oh no, what's happening to me!? I think I have "Can't-stop-hatching-itis."

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

I love hatching and raising babies. Especially duckling lol. My broody silkie hatched a silkies and a runner for me back in April and I've had the itch ever since lol. Now I'm up to 13 chicks and one duckling lol.