My first baby chicks hatched at Bobblehead Homestead by my own hens. YIPPEE!!! My cool neighbor with the cows had a broody hen and hatched 8 chicks for me and gave me the hen, but these were the first I hatched here.
The broody hen is #2, yes her name is a number, and she had to sit on these eggs a few more days than normal. On Friday the 13th of July, I went out just before midnight and discovered a black rat snake eating the eggs Hen #2 was sitting on. So after dispatching of the snake, I put 10 eggs under her just before midnight. 8 of those eggs made it to today, and four of them hatched today. I wasn't expecting them until tomorrow, but I'll take it and I hope the other 4 hatch.
These are the chicks my neighbor hatched for me and the hen he gave me.
When I got to this property back in October, there were 4 hens that were left here completely on their own from July until October by the previous owner. I named them 1, 2, 3, and 4 based on my observations of their pecking order. Only #2 is left now, as 4, 1, and then 3 went off to roost in the trees at night and I never saw them again. We had some fun times and I'll always miss them.
Hen #2 is special to me and she has gone broody a few times already so I am very happy she finally got to hatch out some eggs. The eggs she hatched were not her own eggs, but I doubt she cares. :) I'll be up bright and early in the morning to see if the other 4 eggs have hatched.
The last picture kind of proves that one of the first thing a chicken learns after they are born, is how to stand in their food and mess it up.
I recently "cashed in" some of my Steem and I will be using that to build another chicken coop to help expand my operations. These chicks should be first generation olive egger chickens. The father is a Welsummer rooster, their breed lays dark brown eggs, and the mothers are Whiting True Blue hens that lay blue eggs. Their offspring should lay a green/olive egg, but I won't know for sure for another 5 months or so and they need a place to live until then.
Thanks Steemit, and thanks to Hen #2 for sitting on those eggs a few more days than normal after the snake attack on Friday the 13th.
I hope the four new baby chicks do well on your homestead!
Now that is some fantastic news! Looking forward to some more videos of them!
Congratulations! I know how exciting that is.
I built one of those cattle panel huts for my ducks. LOVE it very practical.
Thinking to build one for my new Guinea babies. My hen didn't accept them so I've been raising them. I used plastic bottles for hot water bottles to keep them warm at night, I am off the grid. A bit of work but it's been fun.
I am new here on Steemit and am happy to have found your blog. I love my homesteading life and really enjoy connecting with others that do too.
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STOPYou ave some nice pics of your chickens.
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