Final Chick Tally

Of the original dozen eggs we put under the broody hen, we have four survivors. To my untrained eye, they appear to be three Rhode Island Reds and a Silver Laced Wyandotte. The only reason I can even guess that closely is that I know I only got RIR and SLW eggs, plus one Aracauna which was easily identified because it was a blue egg, and it didn't hatch.

We had four eggs that simply didn't hatch. No idea why. Mama sat on them religiously, turned them, and protected them. They might have gotten too warm in this week's heat spell. We also had three chicks that almost made it, but didn't quite. Two were apparently stepped on by Mama when they were in the middle of hatching, and one just looks like it didn't quite have the energy to pip all the way around the shell. One egg was crushed on the first night by the klutzy Mama.

All four babies and proud Mama hen are in their own mini enclosure out right next to the main chicken coop. They have their own food and water, their own nest, and a little ramp for getting into the nest. The ramp proved necessary after I went out to check on them last night and found the littlest chick sitting forlornly outside the nest box, peeping and unable to climb into the nest to join its foster Mama and foster siblings. I put the chick under Mama for the night, and we took care of the problem today with the ramp.

Now we have to see if Mama does a good job of raising them, and wait to see whether they're hens or roosters! (Crossing my finger that the SLW is a hen, because I'd like to have one!)