I’m super excited to announce that the baby chicks have arrived! The chicks hatched out yesterday after spending 21 days under a broody Cuckoo Marans hen.
They were very shy yesterday and in order to get a glimpse of them, I had to lift up the wing of the hen. They are day old chicks now. I took advantage of the need to feed and water them to take some photos.
Update: You can watch a video of the baby chicks.
Brooder Catawba Coop
By the end of the photo session the mother hen was becoming visibly agitated. So, I put the side panel back on the Catawba Coop to give the new family some privacy.
I had to add a traditional waterer and chick starter feed in a pie pan to the upper deck of the coop because these day old chicks aren’t using the ramp of the Catawba Coop yet.
Hatch Rate
The overall hatch rate for this clutch of eggs was 50%. I chose a dozen of my best looking eggs that were less than a week old to place under the broody hen. A total of six baby chicks hatched from this dozen eggs.
The three green eggs were all from the same Easter Egger hen. The brown eggs came from either Welsummer or Cuckoo Marans hens. There were two Rhode Island red eggs but they were damaged along with a green egg during the incubation period.
Sadly, one of the baby chicks did not survive the first day. This morning the chick was not huddled under the broody hen with the other chicks. It was down hill from there as the sickly chick eventually succumbed later in the day.
During the next few days, it will be time to play “who’s the daddy”. I have two roosters. Of course there is Big Ed the Welsummer Rooster but it turns out that Snow White the Easter Egger rooster is the dominant rooster in the flock.
Related Pages
- Baby Chicks Video
- Building A Catawba Coop Part Three
- Big Ed Crows Video
- Homestead Updates May 31, 2012
Have you ever hatched baby chicks? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section below.
