kwphotomom
Chirping
Our hen has been sitting on these fertilized eggs I ordered from a breeder. Had no idea if she would really pull through the full 3 weeks or not, but she has done pretty well and this morning we had a chick hatch! Hatch day came and went on Wednesday, I was just about ready to give up hope of any of them making it. But to my amazement, found this little one hanging out of the shell this morning. Watched it push completely out, then our hen got back on the nest and started pecking at all of the eggs pretty hard, then she started kicking them around the nest forcefully. I swear I could hear soft chirping coming from them once she started doing that. Then she pecked the newly hatched chick and that was it, I scooped the baby up, brought it inside and held it until it fully dried from the warmth of my hands. Once it was dry, I placed it in a small box with a heat lamp and thermometer, it settled in and has been great all day, seems healthy and strong, just a little wobbly when it walks, but it is eating and drinking a little and has even had a poop! But back to the hen concerns...is the egg pecking and kicking of eggs normal behavior? Is that a sign that she might hurt them? I checked on her this afternoon (about 6 hours after the first baby hatched this morning) and she was sitting on the eggs so I didn't disturb her to look at the eggs. I swear I heard peeping in there though. Should I be keeping a very close eye on her as they hatch so I can pull them out before she pecks at them? Or was that "normal" behavior?
This baby is so adorable, I hope the others hatch successfully!

This baby is so adorable, I hope the others hatch successfully!