Learning A Life Lesson From an Old Saying

 "Don't Count Your Chickens Before they Hatch"

We've all heard that adage.  It means to not get too confident in your plans counting on the most favorable outcomes.  Getting your hopes too high leads to disappointment.  Temper your expectations.  

We put 42 (supposedly) fertile eggs in our incubator 21 days ago hoping to get some laying hens to replace those lost due to the deadly mink ordeal.  I immediately did the math.  Last year, if memory serves, we achieved a 75% hatch rate.  Assuming similar results, we'd hatch out 31 (roughly) chicks since you can't hatch out 31.5 chicks.  Of the 31 eggs about half would be roosters.  That would leave us with 15 hens.  All that assumes no mortality on hatched out chicks - a big assumption.

Of course, we could buy baby chicks from the store, but they're $5.99 a piece right now!!  Plus, I'm reading that stores are tracking people that purchase baby chicks and reporting their location to the USDA because of the bird flu situation.  Something doesn't sit right with me about that with privacy and all.  You know the old saying about the camel's nose under the tent and all that...  No thanks, we'll hatch out our own chicks.

On day 21 Tricia heard "cheep, cheep, cheep" coming from the room where we had the incubator.  Chicks were pecking out of the eggs!  I gently lifted the rotating cradle that moves the eggs from side to side out of the incubator and began taking the eggs out one by one to lay on the bottom of the incubator.  If you don't, baby chicks could get injured between the rotating cradle, even though it moves very slow.  You can see one of the chick's beak pecking out of the egg below.

Mission accomplished.  All of the eggs are laid out.  Now we wait...

Here is the first freshly hatched chicks all wet from the egg.  That's an ugly little creature if you ever saw one, isn't it?

Pretty soon, though, they dry off.  When they are dry, I move them outside into the garage, where I have our makeshift brooder set up.  Here is the mugshot of the first chick.

And here is the profile shot of the same bird.

I poke their little heads down in the water so they'll drink.  The water has a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in it.  Then I set each one down in the brooder with some non-medicated chick grower so they can start scratching and eating.

I run back to the incubator where more have hatched out.

We gathered the eggs over 3 days, so gradually chicks hatched out over the next 3 days.  Here they are under heat lamps in the brooder where they'll grow for a week and we'll move them outside into this same brooder that we'll set up in a chicken tractor.

When the dust settled, we only hatched out 16 eggs.  That is a dismal 38% hatch rate.  We'll likely get 8 laying hens to add to the flock.  We'll also get 8 roosters that we'll butcher and put in the freezer for chicken & sausage gumbo.  That's not fantastic, but it's 8 more hens to add to the flock, so we're not going to belly-ache about it.  And we'll remember to not count our chickens before they hatch.  We'll also remember, "If at first you don't succeed, try try again."

Fine Feathered Friends

 “I dream of a better tomorrow where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Three weeks ago yesterday we put 10 eggs under a broody hen.  If she wanted to set, well, we'll let her set.  We need to make up for the 30-something odd hens we lost to the minks.  Fortunately, since we've been locking them up every night behind a hardware cloth lined cage, we haven't lost any.  We have about 30 hens left.  

Yesterday after church, Tricia said, "Hey, it's been three weeks.  I wanna go check and see if the broody hen hatched out any babies."  She came back in and said, "Yep, I see three baby chicks so far." 

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!  - Matthew 23:37

That is such a touching metaphor.  You can see how the hen protects her chicks.  When we walk up, the chicks scurry under her protective wings.  She fluffs up her feathers to make herself look larger than she is and makes noises to let you know not to mess with her.  

It's a dangerous world out there for a newborn chick.  There are many predators lurking around on the ground and in the sky.  Rats, Snakes, Red-tailed hawks, minks...  There's even danger from "friendly" animals.  The cows don't look where they are walking and if a baby chick gets under their feet, well, it's not pretty.

Our plans are to move the momma hen and her chicks (however many hatch) into a dog kennel that we'll line with chicken wire and let them get a little bigger before setting the babies free in the barnyard.

We have three other hens that are broody.  We'll let one of those start setting on a nest of eggs, too.  Realistically, we will have to hatch out a BUNCH of eggs to make up for the ones lost to minks.  Some of them will be roosters and we'll butcher them.  But the hens - we'll incorporate them into the flock. Sure, we could put a bunch on the incubator again, but these girls are feeling motherly.  We might as well let them hatch out their eggs naturally, the way God intended it.

Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch (Part II)

Our first batch of chicks are five weeks old and are growing and very active.  They are out in the chicken tractor.  We decided to get a second batch going on the incubator to replace those in our existing flock that were lost to predators or just old age.  So on March 10th we put 42 eggs in the incubator from eggs collected on the 9th and 10th.  That meant on March 31st, we'd have our next hatch as long as we kept the incubator at 100.5 F and the humidity right by keeping water in the reservoir.

Two days before the hatch, we were to remove the egg rotation tray and set the eggs flat on the floor of the incubator.  BUT, one chick decided to hatch out early.  Tricia quickly removed the rotator.  If you don't remove it, you run the risk of the tray crushing the baby chicks.  On the 30th and 31st, the chicks started breaking out of their shells.

As they dried off, we'd put them in a box and bring them outside to the brooder and set them under a heat lamp.  We originally had Barred Rock chickens.  Then we got some Rhode Island Reds and then Aracaunas.  Then we purchased some Golden Comet hens from one of Benjamin's friends.  Golden Comets are a cross between Rhode Island Reds and White Leghorns.  They are prolific layers of brown eggs.  Now, our flock is Heinz 57!  There is a lot of diversity out there.  

Here is one little hen, we hope.  It looks like a Golden Comet.

Here is one of the Golden Comets from the first batch.  We're only going to keep the hens.  We will butcher and eat the roosters.

Statistics from the first hatch:  (42 eggs)

Put in incubator            Hatch Date        Hatch        Lived

2/6/2023                    2/27/2023                25                19

3/10/2023                    3/30/2023              27                26

With the second hatch, we took the 15 eggs that did not hatch and went out to the compost pile.  We busted them open to see what happened.  Of the 15 that didn't hatch, only 4 were not fertile.  10 were fully developed, but did not make it out of the egg, for some reason.  1 was not fully developed.

Our neighbor came over and talked to us.  He raised quail at one time and would hatch out thousands of quail.  He told us that he swore by setting them in the incubator based on the stages of the moon.  He also mentioned that the time of day you set them in the incubator determines to a large extent the sex of the chicks.  I'm not sure about that.  I couldn't find anything to back that up.

However, I did find in the Farmer's Almanac that chicks that hatch just before a full moon would be stronger and have a better chance at survival.  It even had the best dates for setting eggs.  March 7, 8, and 9 were the best days.  Well, we set them ALMOST exactly on that date.  I checked back to the best February dates and we set them ALMOST on the best date, too.  For some reason, we're only achieving roughly a 60-64% hatch rate.

Hopefully we'll be able to get most of these to maturity - either for egg layers for for gumbo!

The Hatch!

We've had 42 eggs from our hens on the incubator.  We watched the roosters and saw that they were "being romantic" with the hens.  Then we collected eggs for three days and filled the incubator with them.  Our little incubator has a rotator that automatically turns them.  We monitored the temperature and ensured that it stayed at 100 degrees.

At one point all of our chickens were Barred Rocks.  Then we got some Aracaunas because we like the blue and green eggs.  Then we got Rhode Island Reds because they are a prolific brown egg layer.  Later people gave us some hens and roosters they no longer wanted.  Over the years our flock has become a 'melting pot' of sorts.  

On Friday evening, we removed the egg rotator and just laid the eggs on the floor of the incubator.  The rotator could crush them.  Saturday we started to hear baby chicks.  For the next 3 days, the chicks hatched out.  You can see we have black chicks, white chicks, red chicks and yellow chicks.  We also have some that are brown and black.  They're all cute little things.

As they dried under the heat of the incubator, we moved them and the broken egg shells out to make room for the chicks yet to hatch out.

We brought them outside to our little brooder we have set up in the back yard.  It's neat to watch their instincts.  One day old and when we put the heat lamp on, it attracted bugs.  The baby chicks immediately started eating bugs.

After 3 days passed, we gave up hope for the remaining to hatch.  There were 17 eggs (of the 42 that didn't hatch out.  Feel blessed that you aren't smelling what this smells like!  The eggs and liquid in the bottom of the incubator is really, really smelly.  I brought these out to the garden and put them in the compost pile.

One of the 17 eggs that didn't hatch, had a chick inside that couldn't quite make it out.  She had pecked, but couldn't complete the job.  The other 16 must not have been fertilized, although I didn't want to break them open to confirm.

Here's a cool looking little chick!

This one, I think, is a cross between a Rhode Island Red and an Aracauna.

So out of the 42 eggs originally put in the incubator, 17 did not hatch.  That left us with 25 baby chicks.  Four of those babies died.  We currently have 21.  A 50% survival rate.  Here's the other thing we learned: Half of those will be hens.  So only 10 of those will actually be egg layers.  That's what we're trying to do is add layers to our existing flock to make up for those that have died of old age and predation.  We may have to get another batch of eggs in the incubator!

A Hopeful Beginning - A Tragic End

On April 22nd we discovered a nest in our blueberry bush.  Almost every year we find a song bird's nest in a bush right around the house and we follow it from the time the eggs are laid until the babies leave the nest.

The nest -2020

The nest was constructed with care.  It had a strong outer nest made with live oak twigs and an inner lining fashioned with hay and grasses woven to make soft bedding for the baby birds that would be coming.  Three blue eggs that were speckled with brown spots were laid in the nest.  Momma bird flew off to eat and I peeked in.

A few days later, things started to happen.  The first baby chick hatched out of the egg.  So tiny and so newly hatched, the chick was still curved into the shape of the egg.

After a few days, three ugly chicks were out of the egg, clamoring for momma bird to bring some worms or bugs or something to eat!

Every time I checked in on them, they seemed to be all peach fuzz and mouths wide open...

I'm not sure what type of bird this is, but here is a photo of the momma bird sitting on her nest.  She would squawk at me when I got near, so I backed up and zoomed in and got a picture of her.  Know what kind of bird this is?

A few days later, I looked in to find only two birds in the nest.  I don't know what happened to the third baby.  The two remaining looked to be growing.  The peach fuzz was almost gone and you can just see the tiny pin feathers on their small bodies.

Over the course of the next week, we weathered a few rough storms with lots of rain and wind.  From a distance I could see that the momma was sitting on the nest, keeping her two babies warm and dry.

The next time the weather cleared, I checked in on our little bird family.  With dismay, I found the nest was empty, and it was laying on its side.  The parts of the nest that were once so impeccably built and cared for were now askew .  There was no trace of the baby birds.  There was no warning squawk from the momma.  Just silence.

I was sad.  The momma bird had worked so hard, done all the right things, shown care and compassion, nurtured here offspring, and yet...  The promising start was full of hope and potential.  The results were discouraging and tragic.  I still am not sure what happened.  If I was a betting man, I would put my money right here.

Ginger would be the primary suspect.  I can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she did it, so at this point charges will not be brought against her.

I looked it up on the Internet and found that most song birds only nest one time per year, so this just makes it even more tragic for the momma bird.  A whole year lost!  But I bet she'll try again next spring!  Just in a better spot!  There is a parable there, I think, for humans.  Even in the midst of trouble, trial, and tragedy, we should keep going and not give up.  Persevere.  Persist.  Push on!

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
Galatians 6:9

The Chicks are Growing Up!

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Matthew 23:37

A Chicken Combo

In THIS POST FROM EARLIER IN THE MONTH we talked about the excitement of some baby chicks - four to be exact, that a smart momma hen hatched out in the loft of our barn.  I figured that we'd give you a little update on them.  The hen actually hatched out four little chicks.  They all seem to be barred rock variety - the same breed as the mother.  Since we have roosters from various breeds and since hens will sit on other hens' eggs, we never know what variety we'll end up with.  

We moved them down from the hay loft and into the goat milking stall.  Although they are little fluff balls, a 10 foot drop down to the barnyard floor might not be good for them.  Momma hen pretty much stays in the center nesting box with a chick tucked under each wing.  When we come into the barn, the babies pop out from beneath the mother as you see in the photo above.  The mother hen is really protective of her babies.  She clucks loudly and ruffles her feathers when we get near.  We throw her and the babies some crushed up rice to eat each day.  It is neat to watch the momma hen scratch and peck at the rice on the ground and then see the chicks imitate her. 

They have lost most of their 'fuzz' and have little feathers on their wings.  They are active little creatures for sure.  The momma has not brought them out of the barn and instead keeps a close eye on them within the confines of the barn.  This is probably a smart move since we've had so much rain. I'm sure she'll venture out with them pretty soon.  

"I got your back, Momma!"

Although this wasn't planned, we needed a few replacement hens as I've buried a few hens in the garden this year.  It is normal to lose a few to old age, injury or predators.  Our chickens live out their lives in happiness, enjoying their golden years on green pastures and die doing what they were born to do - eat bugs, worms, and scratch through cow patties looking for a tasty morsel to devour.  Some get injured when they come underfoot of our 900 pound cows.  There's just too much of a weight differential there and if the chicken isn't attentive, she becomes a "chicken patty" pretty darn quick. We hope momma hen is teaching her chicks to stay well away from the relatively monstrous hooves of Daisy, Rosie, Clarabelle, and Luna. Just one misstep and all that would be left of the chicks is a grease spot.

Then there's predators.  Perhaps some of you picked up on the fact that momma hen hatched out four chicks and the photos only show two.  One morning we came out to the barn and two of the little boogers were missing.  We put out a barnyard amber alert, but no missing chicks were found. Sad! So what happened to them?  I know how they met their tragic end.  They punched their ticket in a particularly brutal and macabre fashion and I'll tell you about it tomorrow if the Good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. 

New Life in the Barn

Last month we told you about a broody hen that was sitting on some eggs in the barn.  Three eggs to be exact.  We marked them with a marker and removed any other eggs from the box.  Over the last three weeks the Black Star hen dutifully sat on three brown eggs only getting up to quickly go eat some rice and drink some water and then she was back on the nest.

Broody hen on her nest

A few days ago Tricia turned to me and said, "You hear that?"  I'm kind of deaf, so I answered, "No." She could hear the chirping of a little chick.  As we approached the momma hen began clucking loudly and fluffing up her feathers.  She didn't want us anywhere near her baby chick.  You can see the little black chick snuggled up next to the mom as momma hen looks down with pride at her newborn.

Freshly hatched chick

Here is the little chick once we moved the mom away from her.  We gave her a few more days to sit on the other two eggs, but no babies ever came out.  I would assume that these eggs weren't fertilized. Even though we have a 1:10 rooster to hen ratio, sometimes this happens.  I was disappointed as I expected at least two to hatch.  The chick is black, with some slight coloration on its wings.  I would guess that this is a Black Star, just like the momma hen sitting on the nest.  A Black Star is a cross between a Rhode Island Red Rooster and a Barred Rock hen.

33.33% hatch rate

Momma hen is very protective over her little one, leading it to safety and clucking loudly.  She will lead her baby to food and water, and we have been watching with interest as she teaches the chick to eat little pieces of food and drink little bits of spilled milk from when we milk the cow.

Follow me, little one.

The focus was off on the camera, so I was unable to get a good shot, but here is a blurry picture of the new baby in the barn.  Mother hen didn't like it one bit that I was holding her baby and let me know it by pacing around my feet.  When I put the chick back on the ground, the hen pecked me hard on the finger.  Serves me right.

A Handful

For the first 3 or 4 days, the hen kept her baby in the barn sequestered from the other chickens and animals.  Today, the hen and her chick ventured out of the barn and walked around the perimeter.  

A field trip

Of course we won't know if this is a pullet or a cockerel for quite some time.  We like to allow a broody hen to sit on a clutch of eggs once a year and we also like to put some eggs in our incubator and hatch out some chicks.  However, this year we decided to go ahead and make an order to have some Barred Rock day old chicks mailed to us so that we can replace some of the chickens that have died over the past year.  We'll show you those birds once they come in the mail.

The Momma Hen (Part Deux)

After a Black Star hen hatched out a little brood of four chicks, one of which died in a rainstorm, yet another Black Star hen got broody and was sitting on three more eggs.  Usually, we'll move them aside and pick up the eggs, but we decided to allow her to hatch out her eggs.  While the previous hen had a secret nest, this girl nested in a milk crate nesting box adjacent to the goat milking stand.  As you can see, sometimes Nellie, the goat, does her business and her 'pellets' fall in the nesting box. We try to keep fresh hay in the nesting boxes, but we haven't been able to put fresh hay with her sitting on eggs.

Momma Hen with feathers all fluffed up

We heard some chirping and lifted her up to reveal one baby chick that had hatched out.  The other two eggs evidently weren't fertile and never hatched.  A 33.33% hatch rate - not as good as our incubator.  We have plenty of roosters, but apparently some of the hens aren't getting fertilized.

Checking on the Chick

Oh well.  After setting for a few more days, the hen figured out that it was futile and started to tend to her only child, nurturing for her, caring for her, and teaching her. I say her, because we're hoping it is a female.  We really don't need any more roosters.

School is in session

It is really remarkable to watch a momma hen and her offspring.  She makes all sorts of noises in communicating with her chick.  You can hear the different inflection in her clucks that identify when she's trying to send an alarm or a calm cluck when she's trying to teach or draw her chick near to her.

She will use her beak to point out where bits of food, seeds, or water is.  If the chick isn't paying attention (like a lot of students do from time to time), the mother hen will call urgently, "Come eat, watch me, learn..."  It is really neat the way God has wired Mothers to have the motherly instinct, to be so compassionate and caring. The Momma hen models behavior for her chick and expects her to watch and learn - just as human mothers do.

The chick is not paying attention

The chick may be doing her own thing, but the mother calls and then the chick will come running!

Here I am!

The hen is very protective over her little chick.  If I try to come between her and her baby, she'll make threatening noises, fluff her feathers and her little one will come running and get underneath her for protection.

A teachable moment

While the other hen had 3 little ones to keep together and observe, this hen only has one.  She can direct her full attention to raising and teaching one baby.  We also check on the chick daily and I noticed today that she is starting to put on her first little feathers.  Just like human babies, they grow up too fast and leave the nest!

The Hatch!

I mentioned in This post three weeks ago that Benjamin wanted to put some of our hens' eggs into our little incubator and hatch out some baby chicks.  We like to do this each year to insert 'fresh hens' into our flock. As hens get older, they lay fewer eggs. We've also had a few hens die of old age that we wanted to replace. So on Monday August 4th, Benjamin gathered the eggs from the nesting spots we have in the barn, chicken tractor, and hen house and we put them in the incubator that evening, marking the calendar 21 days in advance.  On the evening of Monday, August 25th, we should have babies!

We checked the thermostat on the incubator each day, ensuring that we maintained a fairly constant 98 - 100 degree temperature range.  We also kept the center reservoir full of water to provide humidity. (Not that we need additional humidity in South Louisiana!!)  On Saturday morning I planned to remove the egg rotator and set the eggs down on the screen and fill the remaining reservoirs with water in addition to removing the two plugs in the top of the incubator to allow for fresh air circulation.

Saturday morning, lo and behold, Tricia was awakened by a "Cheep, Cheep, Cheep!" noise coming from the incubator.  One had already hatched, so I hurriedly did my work and prepared for more baby chicks.  No matter how many times you do this, it is always exciting.  New life is a blessing!  Benjamin excitedly came running to watch the process unfold.

You can see the chicks using their beaks to break tiny holes in the eggs.

The early bird...

They continue pecking and pecking until they finally break the egg in two:

Getting claustrophobic in there!

With a little more work, the little bird is able to stretch and get his head out.

Now you are supposed to leave the top on the incubator so that the heating coils dry off the little birds, only opening it once a day when they are dry to remove the baby chicks to the brooder.

Drying off

It seems when once hatches, they all start popping out of their eggs.  Once they are dry, I'll remove them and remove the broken egg shells to allow for more room for the other chicks that are on the way.  Benjamin repeatedly ran to the incubator, looked through the windows and shouted, "Another one's on the way!"

They are so ugly when they first come out of the egg...

Not a beauty contestant!

But in no time at all, they become pretty little birds!

When the babies are dried off, we open the incubator and put them in a bucket and carry them outside.  I have our brooder set up in the garage, and we'll leave them there under a heat lamp and allow them to grow for a while before moving them out to the pasture on grass.

A 'Bucket of Chicken'

The first thing we do is Benjamin dunks their little heads into the waterer to allow them to get their first drink of water.

Thirsty?

Then we put them under the heat lamp in the brooder that I've lined with hay.  They stay warm and continue to fully dry and gain their strength.  We have a little newspaper laid out with some Chick feed sprinkled on it. It is interesting how their instincts kick in and they start scratching and pecking at the feed almost immediately. Our brooder is a homemade contraption.  In true redneck form, we had an old sofa that I didn't feel like hauling to the dump, so I took it apart and used the lumber from the sofa frame to make a chicken brooder. The couch on which I used to lay, became a chick brooder where baby chicks play!

The Brooder

Since we have a number of different breeds of hens and roosters, the breeds will vary and there are many combinations of chicks of all colors/breeds.

Benjamin's favorite

In just a few hours the little puff balls are running around!  They are so healthy and playful.  It is hard to imagine that they were inside an egg just a short time ago.

The new babies

Out of 42 eggs we put in the incubator, we hatched out 29.  One died shortly after hatching, so we ended up with 28 chicks, resulting in a 67% hatch rate.  Not great, but not that bad.  I'm assuming that some of the eggs were not fertilized, but I'll confirm that later today.  

Cheep, Cheep, Cheep!

I'll take the eggs that didn't hatch and I'll dig a hole in the garden and throw them in the hole.  The contents of the egg will add to the soil.  Even though the eggs weren't fertile, they'll fertilize the garden soil and grow good crops.

Close up baby portraits

It'll be exciting to watch the chicks grow.  Generally, you can count on roughly 50% being females and 50% being males, meaning that we'll likely end up with 14 new hens. The 14 roosters will make a nice chicken fricassee!  The hens will generally start laying eggs in about 24 weeks.