Trooper, the single hatchling

[ChickenPeep]

Go Trooper!

 

[loverofbirds14]

He is SO cute. I can't wait to see what he looks like when he is all grown up!

 

[BoereMeisie]

Trooper at 5 weeks old: The "ugly" phase, although he's still beautiful lol


Another one, with Nunki (light chick) and Ninja (Black chick) in the pic. I suspect Ninja is also a cockerel

 

[BoereMeisie]

So your in south Africa? Wow that's along ways from here...what's the weather like

Yep, all the way from South Africa

It's late spring now, so getting warmer by the day... Chick season!

 

[tatertot]

Im from Illinois in the USA...its fall here..lots of orange and red leaves...weathers getting cooler...had ice and frost on my car..

Wow...trooper has really grown!
I can hardly wait for March...I'm ready to brood more chicks

 

[tatertot]

Is hatching eggs really hard...IV read alittle about turning them and lots of heat and moisture but then again my pullets are still young..IV not had the experience of a broody hen yet

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Is hatching eggs really hard...IV read alittle about turning them and lots of heat and moisture but then again my pullets are still young..IV not had the experience of a broody hen yet

If you let a broody hen incubate and hatch the eggs, then they do all the work guided by instinct. You only need to worry about heat and turning if you use a man made incubator. When you hatch eggs you also need to accept that there is a 50% chance of getting roosters.

 

[BoereMeisie]

Is hatching eggs really hard...IV read alittle about turning them and lots of heat and moisture but then again my pullets are still young..IV not had the experience of a broody hen yet

If you let a broody hen incubate and hatch the eggs, then they do all the work guided by instinct. You only need to worry about heat and turning if you use a man made incubator. When you hatch eggs you also need to accept that there is a 50% chance of getting roosters.

In my case, it seems there is a 90% chance of roosters

I agree... Using a broody hen is easier, and in my opinion more natural and so beautiful to watch. BUT using an incubator has it's place... When a broody hen is not available or when you wish to incubate a lot of eggs. It's not hard, but educating yourself beforehand goes a long way... I find it fun and very addictive! Trooper is the first hatchling out of an incubator I made at home, and I suspect my main culprit has been humidity... I've since ordered a decent hygrometer which I will install as soon as it arrives, and will also be fitting an egg turning try to my incubator... I might even do a total rebuild when all my new goodies arrive! I'm rambling.... My point is incubating is not hard, but worth researching thoroughly to avoid disappointment... This I learned the hard way...

 

[JudithKerlin]

We let our broody hen get on with it this summer, and at the end of August got the first tiny peeps out of the hen house to indicate success! There were about ten eggs, but I don't think they got turned enough, and only half of them hatched, but not together-- more like one every day and a half to two days! We built a new house with an upstairs nest box apartment to house Mama and chicks away from the rooster and other hen. We were all pretty nervous since it was the first time for us AND her, but she did great on hen instinct.

The only "hiccup" was that when I decided after two and a half days without a new hatching to go ahead and remove the rest of the eggs. I moved them out when she took a break to eat and drink-- but then that evening, going past the bag where I'd disposed of the non-viables.... a stalwart peeping from the bag informed me I'd been quite mistaken. The chick wasn't out of the shell yet but it was just cracked enough for it to breathe and make a mighty emergency noise. Of course I grabbed it back out as quick as I could and tried to move it back under the mama hen, but the shell cracked right in my palms and bam, it hatched, and imprinted on me as its mama critter. The hen tried to peck it when I tried to place it with the others, so I got to raise it separately in a box next to my bed.

Anyway, as I said, we were all nervous as virgins, but when hens go broody, they know what they want and what to do!

 

[tatertot]

IV read that you can put chicks under hens that are broody...but do it at night..and one at a time