This white rock hen was one of my very first, purchased as a day-old chick 4 years ago. White Rocks are nice hens, docile and pleasant to have around.
She’s never hatched out chicks before, though. We generally take all eggs out from under broody hens. But she must have hidden herself away in a nest somewhere on the farm other than the coop. And now she can be seen out and about with her 5 little puffballs. So cute! She seems to be a much better mom than the ducks, who typically lose the majority of their babies somehow.
3 years ago:
2 years ago:
1 year ago:
What a wonderful surprise!!Our broody hen stopped being broody, but a couple other hens have filled in off and on.There were 5 ‘fertile’ total. I removed all the eggs except two.One wasn’t developed at all. One was slightly developed with a tiny embryo and the third had an embryo the size of a half dollar. Sad.I’ve kept these final 2 eggs just hoping they’d hatch, but I don’t hold out any such luck.Should know for sure come the weekend (June 7th-8th) and if nothing, then we’ll sadly remove them for ‘dissection’.Enjoy those hen and chicks on your farm.
What cute babies love the grey and white one.Kris
What a great surprise to find:) Cute little ones running around a farm is always a good thing.
So neat to see it all happen “naturally”. Hope they do well – – keep us posted.Got enough rain up there?
How ADORABLE! I guess she really wanted to be a mommy!
Oh that is so, so, so cute. I hope my chickens raise babies. I have a couple of breeds that are supposed to be good mommies, but I’ve read that most modern breeds aren’t.
Oh, the cuteness! Our defective ducks have no idea how to sit on eggs, apparently. One of them is convinced that you’re supposed to sit on them only at night.
I’v read how if truly free range chickens are left on their own, they’ll bring back chicks that are stronger and healthier than any from a hatchery.seeing the gruesome work of dogs/possums/rats/raccoons have spooked me from letting our chickens out, but here’s proof it can be done… how do you keep all the critters away?