One of our hens disappeared several weeks ago - we thought she had been nabbed by a predator (we free range).
We finally found her under some old boards on a nest of eggs. Unsure of when they were due to hatch, we left her alone and just monitored her.
The next day after we found her, 5 chicks had hatched and we thought the other eggs were not viable, so we moved her to a safer area and gathered up the un-hatched eggs for disposal.
Just as we were about to chuck the eggs (literally!) we heard peeping coming from them! It was evening, so we rushed the eggs back to the Mama hen who had tucked in for the night and put them under her.
The next morning, one more had hatched, but some were still peeping and Mama was no longer willing to set on the remaining eggs.. I didn't have an incubator, but we brought them into the house and put them on my lap in a towel on a heating pad (which I monitored for temperature).
Shortly thereafter, 2 more chicks hatched. We took them to Mama and she tucked them into her brood.
8 chicks total!
The chicks are now a month old. The Mama hen is a Speckled Sussex and the rooster is a White Rock. I have no clue if any of our other hens laid in the nest also - it was pretty secret!
What I am curious about is their tail feathers,, or lack of them LOL
Three of the 8 chicks have tail feathers, the other 5 have.. fluff LOL. They are all different colors, from light to dark. The other breeds of hens we have that could have potentially laid eggs in the nest are Rhode Island Red, Barnevelder, Welsummer, White Rock, and Dark Brahma.
I would love to hear opinions on why we have 3 long tailed chicks and 5 short tailed chicks
We finally found her under some old boards on a nest of eggs. Unsure of when they were due to hatch, we left her alone and just monitored her.
The next day after we found her, 5 chicks had hatched and we thought the other eggs were not viable, so we moved her to a safer area and gathered up the un-hatched eggs for disposal.
Just as we were about to chuck the eggs (literally!) we heard peeping coming from them! It was evening, so we rushed the eggs back to the Mama hen who had tucked in for the night and put them under her.
The next morning, one more had hatched, but some were still peeping and Mama was no longer willing to set on the remaining eggs.. I didn't have an incubator, but we brought them into the house and put them on my lap in a towel on a heating pad (which I monitored for temperature).
Shortly thereafter, 2 more chicks hatched. We took them to Mama and she tucked them into her brood.
8 chicks total!
The chicks are now a month old. The Mama hen is a Speckled Sussex and the rooster is a White Rock. I have no clue if any of our other hens laid in the nest also - it was pretty secret!
What I am curious about is their tail feathers,, or lack of them LOL
Three of the 8 chicks have tail feathers, the other 5 have.. fluff LOL. They are all different colors, from light to dark. The other breeds of hens we have that could have potentially laid eggs in the nest are Rhode Island Red, Barnevelder, Welsummer, White Rock, and Dark Brahma.
I would love to hear opinions on why we have 3 long tailed chicks and 5 short tailed chicks
