Dreamseekers and Company

We have nine little chicks! There seem to be three different general breeds (though they are all mixed breed) but they don’t hold still long enough for me to really figure them out. 🙂 When they do hold still, they are under their mama’s feathers where I can’t see them!

Look at them babies! Five in the middle nest – two in each of the others.

Our Buff Orpington (whom is named “Miss Broody”) is our most dedicated mother.

The kids getting in some rushed newborn time before the hens got upset.

Anna and Ellie were pretending they were kissing and getting married here.

Rushing to put the chicks back, because the mama hen was coming back upset.

In their new digs. Wish I had it cleaner, but at least it’s private. Next time, we will have them hatch out here instead of moving them afterwards.

They weren’t too happy about me coming in.

They make the funniest sounds.

Calling their babies and telling me to leave.

Chick food all over!

Miss Broody has most of the chicks follow her. 🙂

Dedicated Mama.

These two get along. The Welsummer (far left) picks on the Barred Rock (far right). Hopefully we don’t have to separate.

The barred rock with her chickies.

Settling down in the dust with their chicks. There are seven chicks under them somewhere!

Settling down with her two chicks… one is in the process of diving under her.

Nighty-night!

A video of the hens trying to take care of chicks and take a well earned dust bath at the same time. I don’t think the Buff Orpington (yellow) has left her nest for food or even water for 2-3 days! You can see the Welsummer picking on the Barred Rock at the end. They seem to be doing ok, though. Hopefully we don’t have to separate.

Approaching our coop – you can see the new chicken run that Brian built!

We have a Buff Orpington that is frequently and determinedly broody. I bought a dozen fertile eggs from a neighbor who has a rooster and put them under her several weeks into her latest broody session. We have twelve nesting boxes and twelve hens… and she kept forgetting which nest to go back to. Oh dear. So her poor eggs suffered many times of being cold until each time we noticed and moved her back to the correct nest.

About half our hens and our bantam rooster (there on the left) out in the new run.

Meanwhile, two other hens which have never been broody became broody! Our Barred Rock and Welsummer joined the “mother hen” queue. I divided the 12 eggs between them, leaving the biggest part of the clutch under the Orpington, whom we have always referred to as “Miss Broody.”

Broody butts! (I know it’s rude, but it’s so hard not to say!)

Well………. we’ve thrown out three eggs after candling them and only seeing expired, soupy insides, but the other nine have a large, dark shadow which we hope are little live chicks… despite them being left in the cold on a regular basis since their mothers keep forgetting their nests! If we do this again, we’ll be more careful to either check on them more often or segregate them to where they have fewer nest choices.

THIS MORNING…..

Is it? Is it???

THERE IS A CHICK! I thought they had all died and I was really more sad about it than I expected. I had such hopes for these little eggs and their growing little chickie lives. So when I went out this morning and found a hatched egg – YIPPEE!!!! There is one more egg with a crack… so at least one more survived.

It is! It is!!!

Gotta get some chick food and water out there – probably tomorrow – and make sure it is chick safe. The nests are low, but not level with the ground, so we’ll need to put a piece of plywood over the drop for a bit. Oooooh – baby chick! So excited!

EDITED to add: All 9 eggs have hatched or begun to crack as of the next morning. Hope they all survive!