Late Hatch

Last September, Caribou, a Buff Orpington hen decided to go broody. ~Incidentally, just in case you're wondering, I don't name all my chickens! With thirty plus birds and some of them almost identical it would be impossible. But when one stands out with a certain feature or personality, a name invariably pops into my head and the chicken is christened. Caribou came by her name because her comb was missing a couple of spikes, nothing happened to her, she hatched that way. Anyhow the resulting comb looks like the antler on a caribou and so she was named.~

I thought Caribou's timing was a bit off. September is not a great time for little chicks but she was not going to get off that nest for love, money or chicken feed so I put her in a broody area with ten eggs. While the time for raising chicks was not good, the timing to extend her lifespan was impeccable. Caribou was destined for the freezer with all the other year and a half old hens. So she dodged that bullet (or axe, whatever the case may be).

On October 14, nine of the eggs hatched. I was pretty impressed with the hatch rate, especially when I considered some of the frosty nights Caribou had to keep those eggs warm through. All nine thrived, I didn't loose one. Cariboo is an excellent mother, and this was her first time at it. Gotta love a Buff Orpington's natural instinct! The chicks are about nine weeks old now and the cockerels are trying to crow and end up strangling on the noise. I put Caribou back in the main coop and she seems be doing just fine. Sometimes I find her on top of a straw bale looking at her chicks but she doesn't seem upset that she's not with them.

So my first fall hatch turned out very well, I think. When it comes time for broodiness, the hens know much more about it and I think I'm going to trust their judgement.

Roosting just like big chickens!