* As always, click on any image to enlarge it*
I checked on Madonna when I went out to start on my chicken pen yesterday. Sure enough, I heard PEEPING!
I couldn't resist and had to check out the new arrival. How adorable. It looks like a baby chipmunk! ;-) I had no idea what to expect as I've never had a chicken hatch eggs before.
I only kept this little cutie out long enough to take a couple of pictures and then let Mom tuck it safely back into the warmth of her feathers. As she was doing so, I noticed that another egg was also hatching!
Several hours later I took both babies out for their first photos:
Since it was obvious that I was not going to get the new chicken pen completed in time to feel it was safe to leave Madonna and her babies outside in it, I decided to move the new family into a dog crate. Unfortunately, in the process of moving the box containing the nest, one of the unhatched eggs rolled out! Needless to say, Madonna only has one more egg left to hatch. I think it must have been the last egg laid that fell out as there was no evidence of a baby chick in it.
Progress photos this morning show two, healthy baby chicks (if you 'biggify' this photo, you can see that the chicks already have fuzzy feet and legs!) and Mom still sitting on the remaining egg. 
I don't know that Madonna ever leaves the nest so I've put a bowl of chicken food in it for her and I give her sips of water each time I check on her. She is still my little baby Madonna.... ;-)
Congratulations on the new babies! Have you heard any peeping in the other egg yet? It could have been laid later too like the one that rolled out and broke open. Maybe you could candle it to see if there's a live baby chick inside. Just cut a one and quarter inch round hole in a piece some cardboard and place over a strong flashlight or lampshade in a dark room. If it's close to hatching, the egg will be all dark inside and you will probably seem some movement in the airspace. On the other hand if it's stinky and sloshy, you might as well toss it out right away. Enjoy those cute babies!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip, Becky! I'm pretty sure the first two eggs were a few days earlier than the third one and then there was one laid a couple of weeks after the first three. There was no foul smell in the one that broke, so I'm assuming it was the last egg. I'll give the remaining egg another week to hatch before I suspect it might not.
ReplyDeleteThe babies are SO cute and Madonna is wonderful about letting me handle them!
THEY ARE SOOO CUTE!!! I dind't know chicks came in not-yellow!
ReplyDeleteThey are cute even though they have feathers. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteOooo, to be so young and fluffy:-)
ReplyDeleteMadonna is lucky to have you as her guardian/mother.
Diane/Bloomingon,IN
Woohoo! Congrats on the new babies. They are very cute. It's been a long time since I've had any hatchings around here. Good job Madonna! These 'old gals' still have a few surprises left. Heres hoping the babies are all little hens!
ReplyDeleteTammy (Beautiful pictures as always)
Those are some darn cute babies! Can't wait to see some pics of them growing up! I second that hope that they are hens!:)
ReplyDeleteToo cute.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a miracle--I'm so happy for you, Nancy! They are darling! Are you going to name the chipmunky one "Alvin" if it's a rooster? (afterall, Alvin the Chipmunk was a rock star, too...)
ReplyDeleteHoly cow, they are adorable!!!
ReplyDeleteNancy,
ReplyDeleteCongradulations on the new arrivals. Probably the one that rolled out was not fertile. I would also suggest candling the other one. Or just hold it up to your ear. You may find that you can hear the chick pecking. If it hasn't hatched in three days Madonna will leave it to attend to the other chicks.
FYI - she will leave the nest to eliminate once a day and as she is in the dog crate you will notice it because it will reek!
Marilyn
Oh no ~ not my beautiful Madonna! Her poop would never reek.
ReplyDeleteActually, that's why they're in the dog crate. I had her in the garage for two days and THAT was enough of THAT!!!
;-)
I feed my adult chickens "layer crumbles". Do I need to get something special for the babies?
Wow Nancy! If she keeps it up, you'll have a whole new batch of chickens. How long until you can tell if they are hens or roosters? What did you name them?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Good work, Madonna!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Nancy - they are adorable. Yes -you can feed them Chick Starter. You can get it medicated and unmedicated at your local feed mill.
ReplyDelete