The first step was to get my hens to sit on eggs or become broody. My first attempt was a failure. I put plastic eggs all over in their egg boxes, but nobody wanted any babies. So, I had to be more forceful. I picked 2 hens and put them in medium dog crates with a little bit of food and water and a few plastic eggs. I chose Daisy and May to be mommas. So, here they are!
Here's Daisy! She is a 2 year old Buff Orpington. She's always wanted to be a momma. She's doing great! She's already sitting on the eggs.
This is May! She is a 1 year old Black Australorp. She just doesn't like the crate and has no interest in the eggs yet.
kk
This is so cool. I do have a few questions though that maybe through the experiment you could answer. 1. when you replace the plastic eggs with real egg pieces and baby chicks, will the mom be skittish of the new scent? will she know the smell of the plastic yet accept the chicks? 2. are the babies the same kind of chicken the hen is or will they be different? does this matter to hens?
ReplyDeleteI love you and I am so excited to hear more. I also really like this page on the blog.
ww
I'm not sure how she'll act yet, but I'll be there to remove the chicks should the hen attempt to harm them. The babies will be White Wyandottes and Amber Links, so no, not the same as the hens. I don't think it will matter, but who knows! That's what makes this fun!
ReplyDeletekk