Great find Cap! I love it when I get a score like that.
Broody hen Screeching Betty hatched three beautiful chicks for me all within 12 hours of one another. Funny little critters. I checked this morning and there was a little yellow headed chick peeping out of mom's breast feathers at me. I went back about 2 hours ago and there were two little yellow heads peeking out at me. I peeked under Betty and there was the third chick. Screeching Betty is such a good broody. She doesn't fuss or peck, she trusts me with her chicks. Her claim to fame is that when she goes broody she will scream like a banshee at me. The further along she gets with her incubation, the calmer she gets. By the second week she is cooing and talking to the eggs and me when I feed, water and clean. I was shuffling birds around and looked up to find one of her little yellow chipmunk chicks standing outside the nesting bucket. Little twirp hopped out. Betty was clucking at it and trying to decide what to do. I just reached out and told her I'd fix it for her and put the baby back in the box with her.
The big surprise is that the third chick doesn't look like on of the standard chipmunk chicks I've come to expect from these birds. Me thinks I got lucky and have a Fayoumi cross! If it is it's the first.
After the disastrous hatch a week ago it's really so nice to have a trouble free hatch with a good broody and healthy chicks. I need to get pictures once it dries out here...maybe August?
Betty will definitely be around for awhile.
BTW. I have frogs using my garden for a breeding ground.....
Broody hen Screeching Betty hatched three beautiful chicks for me all within 12 hours of one another. Funny little critters. I checked this morning and there was a little yellow headed chick peeping out of mom's breast feathers at me. I went back about 2 hours ago and there were two little yellow heads peeking out at me. I peeked under Betty and there was the third chick. Screeching Betty is such a good broody. She doesn't fuss or peck, she trusts me with her chicks. Her claim to fame is that when she goes broody she will scream like a banshee at me. The further along she gets with her incubation, the calmer she gets. By the second week she is cooing and talking to the eggs and me when I feed, water and clean. I was shuffling birds around and looked up to find one of her little yellow chipmunk chicks standing outside the nesting bucket. Little twirp hopped out. Betty was clucking at it and trying to decide what to do. I just reached out and told her I'd fix it for her and put the baby back in the box with her.
The big surprise is that the third chick doesn't look like on of the standard chipmunk chicks I've come to expect from these birds. Me thinks I got lucky and have a Fayoumi cross! If it is it's the first.
After the disastrous hatch a week ago it's really so nice to have a trouble free hatch with a good broody and healthy chicks. I need to get pictures once it dries out here...maybe August?
Betty will definitely be around for awhile.
BTW. I have frogs using my garden for a breeding ground.....
