My FIRST Hatch!!! (with pics and questions...)

[mlowarren]

Two of my banty hens have been broody for a little over 3 weeks now, and I was starting to get discouraged because none of their eggs had hatched.
Well, this morning, I went out to check in on them, and we have a chick!!!

This has been their first time being broody and my first hatching experience ever, so I'm soooo excited!!!

Here's a pic of the baby:

My white Silkie hen hatched her, and my only roo is also a white Silkie, but...does this chick look white to you??? It's a little more silver than my white Silkies were when I bought them as chicks.

Also, when I put the chick back into the nest so my hen could care for it, the hen started sort of pecking at the chick. It didn't seem like she was pecking hard - like maybe she was trying to discipline it for being out from under her

The chick was peeping the whole time, but I think that was just because it was confused about being moved around and being out in the cold

Is it normal for the hen to peck at her chicks??

Here is a pic of my mamma hen, Flash diligently sitting on her first clutch of eggs:

I'm officially addicted to hatching chicks

and I must get started on my incubator ASAP!

 

[Backyard Hencam]

I can't help you with identifying your baby chick but I can congratulate you! I just can't resist looking at pictures of baby chicks. Have fun with it!

 

[Serrin]

Just keep an eye on momma and chick today Melissa. If she looks at all like she's going to reject the chick after this little adventure, then get him/her into a brooder right away. And then continue to keep an eye on momma. Since it's her first time, she might not be completely ready to be a mother. You might have to remove all of the chicks once they've hatched in that case. But for now, just keep a very close eye on them.

How's the weather down there right now? Is it very cold? If it is, check on mom and chick at least every half hour until you're sure she's going to keep Junior safely tucked under her. Did she keep pecking at the chick, or did chick manage to snuggle back up under the mother? Need more information!!!

 

[mlowarren]

Thanks, cambriagardener!

Serrin, thanks for the info - I'll definitely keep an eye on them! It's not too cold - about 52 degrees - but we've been having flooding rains for the past couple of days so it's really wet! I have mamma and baby (and 7 more still unhatched eggs) in our garage though to keep warm and dry. She kept pecking at the chick, so I put it back underneath her, and then she settled back down. I guess she was just trying to get the chick back where it belonged? As long as it's underneath her she doesn't even seem to know it's there.

 

[mlowarren]

Sooo anyone got any ideas on the color??

 

[theFox]

Sometimes what will be a white chicken hatch out as yellow.

 

[mlowarren]

Quote:
Ok well that makes sense then! Thanks for the info!

You can't really tell in the first pic, but if you look at it from the back, its sort of yellow and light grey swirled...here, I'll post another pic:

Thanks again!!

 

[theFox]

Here is a link about White Plymouth Rocks

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...sa=X&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:official&tbs=isch:1

 

[meriruka]

Here's a pic of my white silkie chick at about a week. You can see some of the same colors as in your own chick, so my guess is it'll feather in white...... Congrats!

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Congrats!