MoonShadows
The Jam Man
Well, after having our chickens for 14 months, one of our New Jersey Giants went broody. First it was just a few eggs in the nest, but that began to grow until there were 21 eggs she was sitting on. A few days ago one of our new Hampshire Reds started "relieving" our Jersey Giant, and since then, they have been taking turns sitting on the nest. Yesterday, we had our first "near hatch". I found an egg with a chick half exposed, but the chick was dead. This morning, I found our first live and peeping chick. This afternoon, our 2nd one hatched. I am not sure how many of the remaining eggs are viable since I have not candled them. I used an old desk drawer to "extend" the nest outwards so the mother(s) can get out, but the chicks can't. I added some chick crumbles to a dish along with a water dish. It was so cute this afternoon watching the 2nd hatchling try so hard to snuggle up to his "mother". Eventually, she repositioned herself, lifted her wing, and the chick scurried under it with just it's butt sticking out. We're checking them every few hours. I'll take a few pics and post them. Tomorrow, I'm handing our cigars!
Jim
Jim
