The sweetest sound in the world! & a ZIP in the bator!!!!

[gritsar]

No pics yet guys. She's not finished hatching em all yet. I don't want to disturb her too much. I promise pics as soon as she's finished.

 

[easttxchick]

Yay! Congrats on the new fuzzy butt!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Glad to hear this. She only had four eggs didn't she? I know it will be a while before we get a head count or see pictures, but please leave them alone. You can look from a distance but don't touch!!!

Do take plenty of pictures when you can though. They grow up awfully fast.

How's the bator going?

 

[Pinky]

Congrats on the hatch! All your and your hens hard work paid off

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Yes Ridge, she has four eggs/chicks. I am not going to disturb her anytime soon. When her hatch is complete and it's nighttime, I plan to move her and her babies (+any bator chicks) to a large (german shepherd sized) crate; where they'll have more room. In the meantime, we're admiring from a distance.

The funny thing is watching the other pullets watch Doe in her crate with the babies. Betcha they're all thinking "gee, if we go broody we can do that too".

The bator display shows it's down to one day, but nothing happening yet. I could swear one egg has moved out of the position I set it in though.

 

[magicpigeon]

Quote:
Yes Ridge, she has four eggs/chicks. I am not going to disturb her anytime soon. When her hatch is complete and it's nighttime, I plan to move her and her babies (+any bator chicks) to a large (german shepherd sized) crate; where they'll have more room. In the meantime, we're admiring from a distance.

The funny thing is watching the other pullets watch Doe in her crate with the babies. Betcha they're all thinking "gee, if we go broody we can do that too".

The bator display shows it's down to one day, but nothing happening yet. I could swear one egg has moved out of the position I set it in though.

For some reason, this probably won't "Stop the broodies". In the best scenario.... ... ... I say to expect a lot more

 

[annie3001]

how sweet!!!

 

[speckledhen]

 

[Ridgerunner]

Nighttime is probably best, but let me tell you a story.

I once in the heat of summer had a hen go broody about the time I set eggs in the incubator. I put 6 eggs under the broody and left the rest in the bator, all started at the same time. A black snake ate the eggs out from under the broody but would not touch the plastic eggs I put under her. She stayed on the nest.

When the bator chicks hatched, I put four under the broody at night, around 10:00 p.m., and left the others in the bator. (That's when I shrink-wrapped a chick, opening the bator to get the four chicks to put under her.) She stayed on the nest with them all the next day and the following night. All the bator chicks had hatched by then. The next morning, she had them off the nest. I caught her and put her in a snake proof enclosure. I caught her four chicks and the other 11 bator chicks and put them all in the same cardboard box. I dumped all 15 chicks in the snake proof enclosure with her. She took them all.

I was sweating those two nights and the day she had them in the coop. I never did catch that black snake.

You can't see all 15, but this will give you an idea. You'll find it kind of hard to get good pictures. They just don't want to pose.

When I put them in this enclosure, the rest of the flock spent a while climbing on it and walking around looking at them. I did have one more go broody, but that was a month later.

 

[gritsar]

That's an awesome pic Ridge. Thanks for sharing your experience.

We have a (partial) zip in the bator!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fingers crossed that the little one can make it into the world.