Hatching eggs

I love it when Ken the hen goes broody and I can pop a fertile egg or three underneath her. It takes such a short amount of time to hatch an egg (21-23 days depending on the breed) and it's always so exciting when they come out. The chick grows a special little sharp point on their beak to help them as they crack open the egg. So you normally see little holes appear as they crack their way around the top of the egg until it finally pops off.

Sometimes people get impatient and try to help the chick along by also cracking the egg, but this can lead to disaster! The chick needs to spend the time going through the process to build up its' strength, and it's also connected to the egg. If you crack in the wrong place, you can sever an essential connection and kill the chick.

During the first few hours out of the egg, the chick feeds on the egg remains and dries its little feathers out. It will need to be under a brooding lamp or a broody chicken to keep it warm and safe. Then, once it's all dried out, a beautiful fluffy chick will appear and work it's way straight into your heart!

Make sure you put water with a low-lipped dish for it to drink from. The hen will show them how to do this, or it might wander over to it by itself. If you have hatched from an incubator, you can dip the chicks beak in the water and it will get the hang of it. I usually put a little dash of 'live' Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in the water to help it along. It's a great pick-me-up for chickens of all ages. Scatter around some Chick Crumbs, and they're all set to start growing :)

No more brooding for Hannah

The naughty girl has managed to eat her egg! Well, one of them did during the night. Admittedly I did get up late and it was raining all day yesterday, so perhaps they got hungry. But still, no more broodiness for Hannah until she's a little older.

Grace gets the OBE for services to the Egg Industry ;-)

Grace doesn't get as much attention as the other chickens. My big 'fluffy bums' are spectacular and tiny little Ken the hen tends to catch the eye, but Grace is the true powerhouse in the egg department. She's not as big as the cochins, but her eggs are always bigger and her yolks are the best colour. If I open the back door she's the first to arrive to see if there is any food, and she's often still out searching for tasty morsels long after the other chickens have gone to bed. She lays at least 6 eggs a week - every day when I used to allow the birds onto the field at the back of the house.

So today I'd like to celebrate Grace the Light Sussex. She knows what I want - eggs - and she really goes the extra mile to make sure they are the biggest, best tasting eggs she can possibly make; every day.

Hannah is broody! T- 17 days

My beautiful Blue Splash cochin has decided to take the plunge and go for the 22 day marathon sit-in. She's just got the one egg, and has been sitting on it for approximately 4 days. The baby's due date is 28th June-ish.

The best chicken advert ever....

THE most adorable use of a broody chicken I have ever seen. And what a beautiful girl!

Another broody hen?

I think Hannah has gone broody. She's been sitting on an egg for a day now, and she ran out of the coop this morning for a quick feed and dirtbath - which is classic behaviour (as the egg cannot be left for longer than a few minutes). So we could have another Pebbles in about 22 days! It depends on whether she sticks out the three weeks or not - many hens abandon the egg after a while.

LATER: Spotted the little minx happily pottering in the garden and found a stone cold egg abandoned in the coop. Ah well. I guess she doesn't have the staying power yet!

New pictures of all my chickens

Click on any of the images to see a larger image, then click 'back' in your browser to return to this page.

I wonder why the chick is called Pebbles?

Ken and Pebbles in the bath

 This is either Daryl or Hannah.... I can't tell!

 All the fluffy bums together: George, Daryl  and Hannah

 George

Grace

New tail feathers!