Precious hatched (in a small incubator in the house) on 11 September, 2000.
I got her egg from a friends' ranch. She did not hatch in the usual way; She came out the side of the egg, feet first.
She is from a Belgian Bantam hen, and a Japanese White Silkie rooster, and somewhat resembles a pheasant hen with a small top-knot and blue ear patches.
Her comb is a dark red variation of the "Rose", has a small set of deep red wattles, has an odd number of toes on each foot which she gets from her Silkie half, she also has a smattering of feathers on each leg and some of her toes.
She laid her 1st egg during the 3rd week of March, 2001. She continued to lay 11 more eggs, 1 every other day for a month, then stopped; And began laying eggs again, every other day, during the 1st part of June, 2001.
On Sunday, 8 July, 2001 Precious sat on my bed and didn't move in a little over 36 hours. Much to my surprise, she had laid an egg and was trying to hatch it. Since there is no rooster around, it was a futile attempt.
Seeing her dedication to the egg, on Wednesday, 11 July 2001, I put 3 assorted chicken eggs underneath her; She has accepted them, and in 4 days, I will also put a couple Coturnix Quail eggs underneath her.
Her eggs will start to hatch on, or around, Wednesday, 1 August 2001.
It takes a chicken egg 21 days to hatch, and a quail egg 17 days to hatch.
8Aug01 - None of the eggs Precious was setting on, hatched.
17Aug01 - She went through a week of depression, but is doing
much better now.
Precious will be celebrating her 1st birthday on 11 September 2001.
Mid Feb 02
She went broody, but I had been collecting all the eggs, so she was brooding an empty nest.
She had such dedication in staying in the nest, and wouldn't even come out to eat. I had to bring food and water to her.
She would just sit there, puff up her feathers, act like she was turning an egg, and settle down in the nest. Meanwhile she was becoming more and more lathargic, and acting rather odd.
Mar 02
So far, she had been sitting on the nest a little over 2 months.
When I would go to bed for the night, I would talk to her for a few minutes. She seemed to perk up a little and would grab parts of my arm and would try to wrap it around the base of her nest.
I happened to find an egg that I thought might be fertile. I wasn't sure what she might do to it, but I showed it to her, and sat it down. She became almost giddy. She started cooing and pulling out her breast feathers. She puffed way up, tucked the egg underneath her, and settled down on the nest.
Now, she clucks a bit to let me know that she's getting up to go eat and what-not. Then she clucks a bit to let me know that she has returned to the nest.
The egg that she was setting on never hatched.
On 24 Apr 02, one of the eggs in the incubator started to hatch.
I showed it to her, but she started to peck at the hole that was in it, and made it bleed; So, I immediately took it away from her and put it back in the incubator.
The chick inside the egg is starting to chirp alot, so I held it in my hand, and held it up to her so she could get used to the chirping sounds.
I did this a few times. Each time she would peck at my hand.
This really worried me.
On 25 Apr 02, the chick had fully hatched.
I was ready to go to bed, so I thought, "It's now or never!".
I held the chick up to her fluff feathers, and it rolled underneath her.
Her hackle feathers stood straight up. Most likely from not being used to movement underneath of her.
I got in bed, and turned out the light.
I said to her, "I know you'll be a good momma."; Then went to sleep.
I woke up in the morning (26 Apr 02), half expecting to find a dead baby chick. But then I heard chirping sounds eminating from the nest.
She has become very protective of the little chick.
Each time I go up to the nest to take a peek, she'll push the chick underneath herself, and puff way up.
Although I keep reassuring her that I won't hurt her or her baby, I can understand her want and need to protect her baby.
This afternoon, I tried to take some pictures of Precious and her baby, but she kept attacking the camera. Hopefully I got at least 1 clear picture.
Like momma, like baby.
This chick, like precious, hatched through the side of the egg feet first.
I did end up having to take the complete shell off the chick. I did,
however, leave just a bit of the membrane on the chick, as it was attached
to the umbillicous. I took that bit off when it had totally dried and
shriveled up.
Precious and her baby reside with me, inside the house, to this day.
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