Goat has been sitting on golf balls for 3 weeks. Today the 13 BCM's and 2 Light Sussex were delivered. I put them in a box and let them eat and drink all day. As soon as it got dark tonight I gave them to her. She opened her wings and tucked them in all around her, it was so sweet, she just kept tucking and rearranging them. Right now she's fluffed up all over them and they are all fast asleep. I hope she loves them just as much in the morning as she does right now! The broody sitting on the fertilized eggs is due on Sunday. Chicken TV is going to be great! We're so excited!
The Broody has babies!
Awwww! How sweet!
I think the over night bonding went well. On top is one of the light sussex.
This is after taking them out to eat. She gets frantic about tucking all 15 under her. If they don't move quick enough she tucks them in herself. I'd love to sit out in the garage and watch but am staying away. It's amazing how PUFFY she can get to get them all under her!
I'm jealous; light Sussex is one of the breeds I've been wanting. I'll be interested to follow their progress.
Great pic's and a great job. That motherly instinct is something to behold. How fun and wonderful it is...YOU ROCK, ANNIE...Hay
So cute,it will be awhile before I see any babies.
There is a nose print on the window into the garage LOL. It's so fun to watch them. There are 15 for her to keep track of and she sure does a good job. She has them out eating again, when they aren't eating they're busy climbing all over her back. When one jumps on she sits down and they all climb on her back. She makes the cutest noises when they do. I'm going to dig a clump of dirt & grass to put in there later. I can see that not much is going to get done around here today except watching chicken tv! I'm just so amazed at what a good mother she is.
I love the sussex, I'm sure one is a rooster, he's always the first on her back, the last one to finally go under her, no feathers on his wings yet, she has to push him under her wings because he is a wild child. They were born Tuesday night so I'll take pics and the experts can weigh in on sex. I even got tiny leg bands in blue and pink so when I know they will get the correct band color LOL. This is so fun! Thank you everyone for all your help!! Chicken people are the best!
oh how awesome!!!!!! I am glad she accepted them so easily.
You are not going to believe how big the Sussex are going to get. I need to take pics of my 5 month olds. Hubbie calls them monster chickens
Wow.. You REALLY lucked out!! That is fantastic! She is a true gem.. I can't wait to see more pictures!! I love it when they climb on mom.. that is so cute! I'm happy for you Annie, great job!
Donna please post pics of your Suzssex, I'd love to see how big they get!
I know ZZ's, I got realllllly lucky! She is all about being a mommy. She has little chickie poos on her back from them climbing all over her. Right now she is sitting next to the food and water again so they can all eat. She does that about every hour then back to the nest box they go. I don't know how long she's going to be able to keep all 15 under her. For now they all fit and she keeps them snug. It's so cute the way she lifts her wings up and scoots the babies under her. I just watch through the window for hours LOL
The incubator will be here next week. I'm in trouble!
Had to take a quick pic of the babies with ZZ's famous Pasty Butt recipe of the dirt and grass. They freaked out and ran under mommy when I put it in with them. Goat started eating it and within 30 seconds there was a chick standing on top of it. An hour later and they've demolished it. I love the way they scratch in the feed and dirt.
The other Broody sitting on Wheaten Marans eggs and 1 Brabanter/Marans egg - there is peeping going on in there!! Due date is supposed to be tomorrow but at least one has decided today is as good as any!
I'm in chicken heaven LOL
Oop's forgot the picture.
I can feel your excitement right through the screen...LOL...It's true, Annie is in chicken heaven...Poor Hubby!!! Just shaking head. So Annie are you the peeping Tom or the Peeping Mom...LOL...Hay
Such cute babies! And what a good mom!
Actually I'm not keeping any of the BCM chicks, know of anyone who wants them for free? I decided - after - I placed the order for these that I wanted to stick to the Wheaten Marans and some olive eggers only. I don't want to mix the BCM with the Wheatens, I won't be able to tell which breed the egg comes from. So as soon as Goatie is done having fun with these chicks I'll find them a home. I just looked in on them, the lights are off but I could see through the heat light a tiny butt sticking out from underneath her. It's just amazing how all 15 fit under her! She is so careful about tucking them under her. She is an excellent mom, what a blessing. I have a hole worn through the window into the garage watching them LOL
The other broody is sitting on Wheaten eggs - they're hatching! The eggs are from a line that I really love. Big robust birds, calm, friendly and very good layers. Why didn't you guys tell me how fun this part was??? I really need to get busy on another coop!
Wish I could run across a deal like that! I'd sure take you up on it. I have some 3yo hens I need to replace this year.
Well just come on up to Ohio! We'll feed you good and send you & the chicks home before you freeze!
Annie I have been meaning to take pics of the Sussex for a month now and just haven't gotten around to it. I will try to remind myself tomorrow. Might need to tie a string around my finger lol
Thanks, Donna, I know how hectic life can get! I've heard they're big, calm & friendly chickens. My DN wants to take one as a 4-H project. I think she may be too young (8) but she may qualify for Clover Buddies. Since I posted last I've
looked out the window into the garage at the babies at least 7 times LOL Can't wait to see how many of the Wheaten's hatch by tomorrow too!
LOL Won't be long and we will see your posts of frantically building building building.. Such a great time!
There is nothing cuter than lil fuzzy buttz sticking out from under mom.. LOL I love that.
So glad everything is working out so good for you Annie.. that is just awesome!
Oh thank you!! This is so fun and exciting for a newbie like me! There isn't a speck of the dirt & grass ball left this morning. They had so much fun running over it, standing on top, and eating it ans scratching. I love the way they just know how to get those little legs moving and scratch. It was good for them and great entertainment for me LOL
I took a quick look at the broody this morning, I could hear peeping, and two butts poking out from under her. I am so excited because the eggs are from the line of Wheatens I want.
Just a dumb question, what happens to all the egg shells? Will she toss them out of the nest or eat them?
Annie, there is a post by Melissa, (new) she lives in Ohio and is one great gal. You might see if she would want them. That is the breed she keeps...Hay
That is great that they ate it up.. You can keep putting more in.. They won't fill up on it, and it's good for mom and babiez.
The shells will just get pushed aside eventually.. I am guilty of gently lifting her up and gathering the shells.
If you do it, just be careful that you don't move her so much that she steps on a baby trying to get her balance..
I'm so happy for you.. it's a joy to read this thread!
Hay, I did ask her in another thread and then D-Mailed her too. That would be so great if she wants them, I hope to hear form her.
Thanks ZZ, I wondered about the shells and if I was supposed to do anything with them or not. Can you tell I'm just itching for an excuse to take a look in there? LOL. I'm being VERY good and not bothering any of them, but my feet hurt from standing in front of the window watching for hours. I put a fresh chunk of grass/dirt in this morning. They're so cute when they stand on it! They've been scratching the shaving out of the nest box onto the paper towel bedding in the pen. Wow, can they ever throw it far with those tiny legs!
I envy you having babies,can`t wait till I can have some
Hey Green, I can't help but laugh. I was just wondering how you were taking all this in. I know it's killing you...LOL...You brought me a great chuckle...Hay
It's just so much fun, I can't get anything done around here. I was trying to decide what I loved watching most, her gently tucking them underneath her, or when they all pile on top of her back. I need to watch it more, like a few thousand times, to decide.
About what age does momma decide she doesn't want to be momma anymore?
The other broody is still hatching the eggs, so far I can see 3. One is yellow! Um, these are Wheaten Marans, they should be mostly black. I know it isn't the Marans/Brabanter egg (we're calling it a Mars Bar Chick) because that egg hasn't hatched yet.
I was afraid my other Girl's would feel neglected so I made them some oatmeal and gave them a pile of kale. They're happy too! The nice weather break is over, it's snowing again!
You've got plenty of time to enjoy mom & babiez.. Some get tired of it sooner than others.. I have an incredible broody, but she is done, and I mean DONE as soon as they are feathered!!
Wheaten hens and roosters are such different colors; are they all the same at hatching?
These chicks are BCM, and I bought them day old.
Strange thing, my friend gave me wheaten eggs to hatch which started hatching last night. Weird. Two of the chicks are yellow, the other two are black. I honestly have no idea what color wheatens are supposed to be at birth. We're thinking maybe she got some eggs mixed up and gave me some BCM eggs with the Wheatens eggs. There is only one rooster and he's a wheaten. I e-mailed the lady I got my wheatens from and asked her what color they should be. For now, it's a mystery!
Ok, the broody Charlotte is done hatching her eggs. Uh-oh. There was a mix up in the eggs. There were 2 BCM eggs that hatched (those chicks are black) and 3 Wheaten Marans (Yellow). Good news is that I got 3 healthy Wheaton Marans out of the hatch, YAY, Charlotte, bless her dedicated heart, hatched out all that were fertile!
I checked the 2 remailing eggs - they were not fertile - so her hatch was pretty darned good, all that were fertile hatched. One of the eggs was just a mix - a Brabanter and Marans mix, we've been calling the egg the "MarsBar" egg and I got really attached to it, that would have been in interesting mix!
I'm really proud of my Broodies and how hard they worked.
ZZ's the clump of grass/dirt....... my husband came in from taking a look at the chicks and said there was a dead one. I ran out to look and it was the clump of dirt. He REALLY needs to get glasses!! We really had a good laugh about it. When I went out to look agin later Goatie had the clump of dirt UNDER her with all 15 chicks! She is an amazing mother! It's going to break her heart when she can no longer tuck all 15 under her.
This has been so FUN! I bought an R-COM 20 incubator that hasn't arrived yet. Too bad there can't always be a broody to do it instead. The look on their faces and the noises they make at their babies is priceless.
Annie you have such a nice pen for them. From the picture it looks like you have several. I really like that. What an ideal setup.
OMG that is just toooo funny! Chickens are so comical.. I mean, like she had room for that dirt clod.. that is just a crack up!!! Hens like that are just priceless to me.. I have a really good broody hen, she thinks she is royalty.. Of course, to me she is!
Those are memories to cherish...
Maybe the hen needs glasses too.
My husband and I both need glasses and have for quite some time. I'm not to proud to wear cheater glasses from the drugstore, but he refuses. I told him this morning that we were having carry out for dinner because I was going to be too busy chick watching to cook!
Thanks LFJ, that pen was an idea I drew up thinking it would be easy for me to build. It's 7ft long, 30 inches wide, 32 inches high and has a hinged top (which isn't on yet but is made). There are handles on the ends to make it easier to move around. I thought I could make this easily - it's only easy in my mind . It is narrow enough to fit through door ways and the heigth is the same height as the rolls of wire I bought so there was no cutting wire. I picked up all the wire and wood (2 x 4's) and looked at it for a couple days and then called my neighbor to build it LOL. He's a contractor so he was able to knock it out in about 2 hours. He charge me $50 and 2 dozen eggs.
The other pen was made by a friend with all recycled materials - cost was $60. My garage is turning into a barn.
Yes, Goat is a wonderful momma! Today she is walking around the pen with them. Charolette still hasn't left the nest yet, her last chick was born during the night so maybe tonight or tomorrow she'll bring them out to eat and drink. My DN is just as excited with every move they make. This has been so good for her too.