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More Nuggets

July 2nd, 2014

Exactly eight weeks to the day, broody hen hatched out another batch of nuggets.  This time there were four that she hatched and two pipped eggs remained in the nest.  I put them under a damp towel and a heat lamp inside and one little one hatched out.  I snuck it under broody hen that night and the next morning it was running around with the rest of them.
nuggets 2
If we’re lucky she’ll hatch out one more batch before the cold weather starts to hit. We’ll keep the hens for our laying flock and one rooster, the remaining roosters will become meat birds. This is a good reason to have dual purpose breeds, then the extra roosters make find roasting birds.  At the moment we’re thinking in her previous brood there are three roosters and two hens and they’re Wyandottes so they should make a meaty roasting bird.
nuggets 1
There’s also another broody hen sitting on a nest of eggs we got from a friend. We’re hoping she hatches out a good number to add some new varieties of chickens and fresh genes to our flock. I checked yesterday and she had three pipped eggs. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that she’s as good a mama as the original broody hen is.

Any new life in your garden?

6 Comments to “More Nuggets”
  1. Nebraska Dave on July 2, 2014 at 8:40 am

    Susy, I learned some thing new today. Normally, I ‘m not very interested in chickens or raising them but the term “pipping” caught my attention and well I just couldn’t let it go by without researching it. I had never heard of pipping or zipping either. If I understand it correctly, pipping is when the chick inside the egg has broken through the internal membrane and started the process of hatching. Chirping can be heard sometimes even though the egg hasn’t been broken just yet. Zipping, from what I’ve read, is the process of actually breaking out of the egg shell. It’s always a learning process to read your blog each day.

    I’ve not seen any new life in the wild yet but I suspect it’s there even though I can’t see it. Wild life has a way of increasing even in the toughest conditions. That’s the beauty of nature. It exists without help from human intervention.

    I’m hopeful that July will bring better weather to work in the garden. The month is already filling up with appointments. Today is a day for concrete step repair for a friend. Life is good don’t you think?

    Have a great new life on the Maine homestead day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  2. Vicki M on July 2, 2014 at 9:17 am

    My hen when broody an hatched out her first 2 weeks ago. This weekend we will have our 2 hatching. Super excited to see what new member our added. I have been raising chickens for 3 years now and this was defineitly something great for the kids to see first hand. We will be doing the same with the rooster as meat birds also.

    Reply to Vicki M's comment

  3. DebbieB on July 2, 2014 at 9:52 am

    So great to be replenishing your flock without having to go buy chicks! Smart to add in fresh genes, too – the diversity will strengthen your flock. Thanks for the pics – as always, I’m living vicariously through your chicken adventures until I can get my own!

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  4. Lindsey @HalfDimeHomestead on July 2, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    That is so cool!! And what a great idea with the damp towel and the heat lamp. Of course that would work.
    When we get onto our land, we will have the luxury of a rooster, but now we have to settle for a Hovabator Incubator that hums along in our living room.
    Recently we have hatched out a larger batch of Coturnix Quail – for eggs and meat (the boys when they get too old). It was a good hatch – 38 out of 42 eggs. My best yet. I’d love to have the quail hatch their own babies, but they are utterly uninterested in doing that, so, the Hovabator again!

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  5. Beth in Ky on July 3, 2014 at 7:55 am

    I have raised lots of chicks from the incubator over the years, but would much rather let momma do it! She takes them around and teaches them how to be chickens. Right now we only have 1 broody. She hatched off 4 ducks for us this spring.

    Reply to Beth in Ky's comment

  6. Charlie@Seattle Trekker on July 3, 2014 at 1:56 pm

    The flock seems to be getting on quite marvelously. I grew up in rural America, it is hard explaining that to anyone who does not have that experience, and how you miss just the day-to-day life of the farm.

    Reply to Charlie@Seattle Trekker's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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