This is so exciting!

[Pupsnpullets]

I have an elderly (7yrs) red hen, supposedly cuckoo marans x RIR, who looks like a RIR with white earlobes. She has a great disposition and is still regularly laying a large buff/light brown coloured egg. And always with her signature 2 or 3 extra calcium deposits at one end. Have never been able to hatch any of her eggs.

I also have an older (5yrs) probably red sexlink rooster who I thought was a good looking, genial dud.

When one of my young layers went clucky I threw half a dozen of the old red hen's eggs under her just because ... well, curiosity perhaps? Didn't need anymore babies cos I've still got the 9 I hatched out earlier this year and 6 of them are girls.

Well, between an old hen, a dud rooster and an untried, inexperienced momma I have 3 beautiful little red babies this morning with the definate possibility of 2-3 more!!!

One egg is pipping, another is making pipping sounds and the third is a mystery.

Now I'm scrambling to create a safe home for them as I'm going out of town for 4 days!! Maybe I'll just scoop them all up and take them with. My loose calculations (made cos I didn't think for a minute any thing would come of this experiment) had them hatching on Monday when I'd be back in town. Oops!

Any suggestions?

Bewildered Barb

 

[Pupsnpullets]

But wait ... there's more!!

One more little red baby has made it into the world. The other 2 eggs aren't looking too hopeful, though.

Barb

 

[FrontPorchIndiana]

Well I'll be darned. Isn't mother nature amazing? Hope you were able to find a safe spot for them today.

 

[Chirpy]

That's so cool ... but we must see pictures!!

 

[Pupsnpullets]

This turned out kinda crazy. Not expecting babies at all, I'd planned to leave town for 4 days (the babies weren't due til the Monday of my return anyway - or so I thought). I ended up throwing mom and 4 little survivors into a varikennel, loaded them onto the back of the pickup and took them into Newport Beach with me. So the little family chilled with me in the heart of the 'O.C' - as in the OC of the tv series.

They also took a little side trip to a KinderCare where a friend of mine is a student teacher. All the kids had a blast playing with the chicks closely supervised by a couple of anxious mother hens - me and the feathered one!

We are now all back home again and I'm going to see if I can get some pictures uploaded of my little gypsy family.

Barb

 

[lauralou]

You took them with you! That's awesome!

I would have taken them with me, too. Without a doubt!