Here are pictures of chicks hatching under my broody hen:
I caught the timing on this one perfectly... it literally hatched out in my hand!
Welcome to the world baby! Good thing you're a girl...we won't be eating you!
After about 48 hours the hen was done sitting on the nest. We have too many cats who like to dine on baby chicks to let the broody hens run loose. So, I moved the whole brood to my small PVC chicken tractor where they are safe and Momma hen has some room to 'range' and teach the little peeps how to be chickens. She's a wonderful momma. Ya know the saying about getting your feathers ruffled? Well, it must have been inspired by a broody hen! She sure got her feathers ruffled when the flock rooster came over to investigate all the peeping. No way was she going to let him mess with her babies!
On the 25th-26th we had three more chicks hatch, all pullets! Two are left in the incubator, one has already pipped through the shell and the other is working on it. That'll be 14 total from this hatch. Phew! MORE chickens, just what I needed (hmm...). So far the running total is 11 pullets, 3 roosters. They are black sex links (Rhode Island Red daddy x Barred Rock momma) so I can tell gender at hatch which is really nice. I am getting GREAT odds right now, I'm feeling so lucky I've debated going and buying a lottery ticket.
Now that this hatch is done I'll have a little break, then in about a week and a half my Jersey Black Giant's chicks should start hatching. I pulled a real switch-a-roo on her and stuck Rio Grande Wild Turkey eggs (from a neighbor who raises them) and some Americauna eggs under her. Poor girl, her kids are gonna hatch and not look a thing like her!
