It worked!
Last night around nine o' clock, Homero and I snuck out to the mama barn with a very small flashlight and as quietly as possible, slipped the chicks under her wings. We removed two of the eggs, but I didn't want to disturb her or wake her up further by removing the rest of them.
It was actually kind of hard to go to sleep last night, wondering what I would find in the morning: new happy family of poultry, or five tiny frozen bodies and a hen going steadily more and more broody/crazy.
As you can see, it was the former. Hooray! Mama is still sitting on them tightly, but everybody seems happy. I removed the rest of the eggs, too, because I want her to start getting off the nest and eating and drinking. I have the eggs under a heat lamp, even though I KNOW they are dead. I just can't throw them away yet.
Yay! I was certainly hoping for the best... I don't watch soap operas, but this was consuming me like one!
ReplyDeleteOh hurray! Did she look surprised and happy this morning? Was she a bit dazed wondering how on earth she hatched out 4 day old chicks? LOL...Keep us up to date on your crazy hen :)
ReplyDeleteAnd super good job on the old bait and switch!
Yay. Now I go to sleep with the satisfaction of ornithological serenity.
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