Chick count is now two
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chickens | 6 comments
Mother hen and day old chick
Yesterday morning I turfed Venice of a very smelly nest and discovered another chick similar in colouring to the first chick. Incidentally we have named the first chick Folly. Thumbs up to 5olly for the suggestion.
There are now five eggs left. One is large and pale brown and four are Hope’s eggs. Venice hasn’t tried to move any of these eggs out of the nest and seems happy to keep on sitting.
I was a bit worried that she wasn’t tending the hatched chicks but the chick crumbs are going down in the bowl and I saw the little chick in the photo above drinking last night. So fingers crossed that all will be well.
Danny and I are thrilled with the chicks – our first cross breeds hatched from our own stock in the old fashioned way. They look and sound very like these leghorn chicks in this you tube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBvSSejYKYs So perhaps they are the progeny of Paris and Beatyl? It will be really interesting to see how they develop colour wise.
Today when I lifted Venice off the nest the chicks became rather alarmed. It was very touching to see them run to each other for company and I assume, comfort. As chicks Beatyl and Dixie Chick used to play together a lot in the grounds of the Emerald Castle. It’s good that there are at least two this time, the last thing that we wanted was just one lonely chick.
Meanwhile the young Pekins are doing well and are becoming more used to me. Like the rest of the flock they start calling when I appear as they all know that I’m bring fresh water and food. In the morning before I let them out of the Pekin Pagoda, they are clustered behind the little window, peeping out expectantly.
All this new life is lifting our hearts here at the cottage.
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Love hearing your chicken tales and so glad you have 2 chicks now, not just 1. Hope there will be more to come.
gently shake the un-hatched eggs close to your ear, if you hear liquid, dispose of them, they`re addled, if you dont, it means there is something in there live or dead, leave them a min of 25days, then harden your heart and dump them.Sometime chicks are a bit lazy and take an extra day or so.
Hip Hip Hurray for the second chick! Waiting to know what you’ve named him/her. Now I just hope that Venice proves to be as good a mother as Mrs. Boss used to be. And more photos of the two chicks please!
Thanks Cathryn
I’ll try that tomorrow. And then I can release Venice from an undue sitting – it is her first broodiness after all. Thank you 🙂
I submitted my last comment before I had quite finished. I meant to say you can often hear chicks Inside their eggs if they’re close to hatching 🙂
Have you tried candling the remaining eggs? If you hold a bright light up behind them in a dark room you should be able to tell if they’ve got a chick inside – you can use an egg that hasnt been incubated for comparison. If they’re not fertile you can then remove them so Venice concentrates on the two babies she already has. Or try holding them up to your ear in a quiet place – it’s often possible to hear an unborn chick cheeping from inside it’s egg.
Inside it’s egg (once it’s cl