Surprising success from eggs I thought wouldn't hatch!

Recently I've been giving my broody banties a few eggs from the bigger girls to hatch. I have an assortment of little pens & cages & places so they can remain undisturbed & uninterrupted by the other hens.

There was one hen who had been setting 5 eggs for about 19 days, staying faithfully on the job even through Tropical Storm Fay. But on day 19 I went out & found her nesting box, a plastic bin with a door cut out leading into a wire cage and a piece of wood for a roof, tipped over. The eggs were cold and the hen was gone.

I took out the bucket containing the eggs and set it next to the compost pile. I had intended to crack those eggs to see how developed they were, and bury them in the compost. But I got busy doing other things for several hours, and then found the broody hen crouched in a nest box in another pen.

So I decided that since she still felt broody I would set her with new eggs the next night. I put her back in that bucket with those cold eggs, and back in her bin.

The next evening I found that bin tipped again, the hen in the next pen, and those eggs once again cold. When I picked up the bucket and looked closer at the eggs, I noticed one was pipping and I could hear distinct cheeping coming from within!!!

I quickly put the mama hen back on those eggs. It was touching to hear her clucking to her cheeping eggs. I put the bucket into another cage I have on my patio, and covered it to give them privacy.

The next morning I found TWO new chicks peeking out from under their mama's feathers. I was amazed to see that at least 2 of those 5 COLD eggs were still viable.

I don't know if those other 3 eggs are viable, if they had even developed. I'm going to borrow a brooder from a pal and then let the Mama out with her 2 chickies, she's ready to take them out for their first adventure in the world. I'll check those remaining 3 eggs and if they look developed I'll leave them in the brooder for another day or two and give them an extra chance.

Then I'm going to arrange for this hen and her 2 miracle chicks to be the next guest speakers at our church.