We lost our dearly beloved Rooster Anthony on Good Friday... It broke our hearts. His mate, Alice, a bantam cochin, went broody the day before he passed away. She's sitting on three eggs. We've never hatched our own hen's eggs and we've never incubated. I know the cycle is about 21 days. We've had some unseasonably hot weather here and in the daytime I have a hardware cloth screen window right near where she sits so she gets a nice breeze. I have a rain sprinkler that I douse the coop (not anywhere near her) and her run so she gets a nice cool draft blowing to ease the temps... We're so excited. We're hoping for a clone of Anthony but will be glad to have anything that is healthy... Here's a shot of the pair in better days. Any advice ?? We're just letting Alice do her thing. Thank God the high temps will break today and be more Spring like... Any guess on what they might look like ?? LOL She laid one egg on Wednesday, one on Thursday and one on Good Friday... (i.e.: May 9-11)
They're beautiful! I maintain a flock of broodies - just let mama do her thing! Put chick starter and a chick waterer where the babies will have access and just let Alice handle the rest. The mama will show them how to eat and drink, make sure they eat the right stuff and she will keep them plenty warm. It's so much easier to raise chicks when you just let her do it and watching her with them will go a long way to easing your loss and her lonliness!
Not sure how they'll look but if all goes well, Anthony will live on in your hearts with every glance at his off-spring. Hope all turns out well and sorry to hear about Anthony.
Quote:Thank You, you sort of validated what we were going to do, which basically is nothing other than taking her chick starter, a little salad and fresh cool water. We also pet her just a little and talk to her to keep her company. She loves the new screen setup so she can see things outside but still be protected. At night we close it up... We can't wait... Michael and Nan
It's so beautiful to watch a mother with her babies - the soft noises she makes to them, seeing them climb on her, a little head peeking out and watching her pick up the same piece of cracked corn over and over to show the babies it's good to eat. It doesn't matter if she eats the chick starter either - she won't lay eggs again for about a month, so she won't miss the calcium. The added protein is probably good for her - brooding takes a lot out of them.
