Tragedy and Hope??

[Cherterr]

I figured that was a good name for this topic.. lol

I'm just looking for moral support here today.. .... Background:

Silkie broody hen nesting eggs in a dangerous area (garden under wheel barrow open to all sorts of predetors, etc.) AND no chicken wire to keep babies in once hatched.

SO... brilliant chicken woman that I am (HA!), I decided to move them so we did. Last night around 8 PM under cover of darkness.

I put her and eggs in the upper brooder in my snazzy coop... BUT (again stupid me).. I had a chick deliver box from last year and put shavings and eggs in THAT, her on top and then popped in to brooder area (no light).

ALSO STUPID ME.... didn't go back out to check last night thinking I didnt' want to 'disturb' her any further.

SO.. THIS MORNING...

I go out.. she's sitting out of box and eggs are stone cold. (It was probably about 40 degrees last night.) *sigh*

WELL.. not to be 'outdone' and depressed... I noticed (thank the Universe!) That another Silkie hen.. AND a Production Red hen are both seriously broody in the nest boxes (like GOOD chickens!!) so... not wanting to waste too much more time.. I start popping eggs under them after a slight hand warming.

The nice part: (IF I actually get some to hatch and YES.. I know chances are SLIM) SOME of those eggs are PRs, and even ONE is very light from my Barred Rock hen.. ) This COULD potentially be very exciting BECAUSE.. I got rid of my PR rooster this week (as I am too old to be chased out of my own coop!!) AND... My little black and white stripped hen is the ONLY one of her kind around here.. so it would be super cute to get a chick. These would be the last fertilized eggs (non Silkie) around here for ?? probably EVER.

Keep your fingers crossed from me. Lots of variables with this... eggs got cold, new hens may not stay broody..?? I'm just crossing my fingers and running out to the hen house every half hour today.

OH.. FYI.. the original Silkie mom... I put her out to freedom; she ran STRAIGHT back to the wheel barrow and began to sit w/no eggs.. Go figure. I rearranged things in the garden so no more eggs get laid over there (I hope!) She is pecking around with the others now, like nothing ever happened. (Yay.. relieved guilt! It was so awful watching her run right back over there knowing I screwed it all up for her

SO.. thanks for reading.... and I hope you'll comment. These eggs should hatch around the end of the month (28th or so)

STAY WARM!!

 

[TwoCrows]

Great story here! Well, all of our poultry adventures are great big experiments to begin with....at least in my yard they are!

I never know how things are going to turn out and rarely do I really know WHAT these birds are thinking!

I wish you great luck with your broodies and eggs! I hope you get something to hatch. You can always name these babies names like "Chance, Luck, Penguin, and Arctic". (for surviving the cold egg stage)

 

[Cherterr]

Well................

Shortly after the OP, I went out, the two hens in the nextboxes were gone, so I took the eggs back out under the Wheel Barrow Silkie and set that all up for her as it was originally. *sigh*

At least SHE'S happy and sitting away! lol Go figure.

 

[donrae]

What was your rooster? You said PR--I don't know if that means production red or Plymouth rock.

 

[Happy Chooks]

What was your rooster? You said PR--I don't know if that means production red or Plymouth rock.

I'm thinking Partridge Rock.


Good luck with her. I hope she stays safe from predators.

 

[Cherterr]

What was your rooster? You said PR--I don't know if that means production red or Plymouth rock.

Production Red

 

[donrae]

Production Red

Okay, so if you do get one of the barred rock's eggs to hatch, you'll have sex link chicks--and the barred ones would be male.

 

[Cherterr]

UPDATE:

Silkie mom continued to stay under the wheel barrow and two of the four eggs hatched. One silkie baby and one from my barred rock hen. (Last chance on that, Rooster gone now).. BUT

I found her in the coop yard with the others that morning, and after a 'head count' realized something was up. I checked on the wheel barrow only to find a squashed dead silkie chick, and on the way over there, another little black chick was laying along the fence line.

Apparently, motherhood did not agree with her, flipped her out, she took off, and the little black baby couldn't find the 'door' to follow her.

So.. Tragedy it is! Grrrrr.

I bought an incubator.