The Chicks are Hatching, Part 2

Our chick count has grown from four to thirteen since last night – and more on the way. As they dry off in the incubator, we move them over to a box in the garage. Mr. Green Thumb had picked up a large box from Costco last week – the kind that watermelons and sacks of onions are sold out of.

Last night, as the first chicks pecked free of their shells, we scrambled to reassemble the box. I taped down the bottom flaps so that none of the chicks could get caught underneath one of them. We sprinkled shavings down and Mr. Green Thumb got the heat lamp set up.

We had read that a broody hen will accept chicks if you slip them under her from behind. We happened to have a hen that has been sitting on her eggs for the last five days. We moved her and her eggs over, and she sat right down. Then we slipped the four chicks under her.

Immediately she stood up, and looked all around. She could hear the peeping from the chicks, but couldn’t figure out where the sounds were coming from. When she noticed the chicks, she pecked at one of them, and then flew up and perched on the edge of the cardboard box. So much for that idea! We carried her and her eggs back to the nesting box, and she settled right back in.

So the four chicks from yesterday spent their first night under the heat lamp and not a hen, like we had hoped. Thankfully, they are doing well and are wandering all over the box, exploring their new surroundings. The others are still sleepy, and are huddled together directly under the light.