Sassafras and Co.

Earlier in the spring, I had considered how fun it might be to incubate some eggs, and a kind friend even let me borrow her incubator. My excitement bit the dust however, when I found out I'd have to monitor the humidity and temperature of the incubator, in addition to turning the eggs each day. For twenty-one days. While I may endeavor and some times achieve great things, babysitting chicken eggs just wasn't high on list of priorities.

Enter broody Sassafras. She was camped out in the nesting boxes for a week, screeching at us each time we gathered eggs, pining for some babies of her own. Andrew and I talked about giving her some eggs. You know...just for fun, and to see if anything would come of it. We tried not to get our hopes up, because we didn't know if she'd be a good chicken Mommy, as one of my Mom's hens turned homicidal on her chicks while they were hatching. Yikes.

I collected a few eggs from our Buff Orpingtons, and one from Sassafras herself. I used a permanent marker to i.d. the eggs with the date, and which breed of hen I'm pretty sure laid each egg. After that, I put them in the nesting box. Sassafras was ready and waiting for me, quickly used her beak to gently tuck the eggs underneath her, and nestled in. She seemed extremely happy. For a chicken at least.

And then she sat. And sat. And sat. And sat. And sat. And sat. And if you know the story of Prudence and her potty, then you get the idea that there was a LOT of sitting going on. I read that a broody hen will take in 80% less food during her broody period, so the less time she spends being broody, the quicker she'll recover once she's done sitting.

There was but one mistake in my plans. It was in my lack of scheduling. A chick's incubating period is 21 days, and 21 days from that date would find me out of town. Bummer. I was still skeptical in this crazy raptor hen's dedication to her nest, and mothering skills. Who knew if she would complete the task?

After much sitting, warming, and gentle daily turning as only a mother hen can provide, this past weekend, all of Sassafras' hard work paid off. I was indeed out of town, when I got a text from Andrew, informing me that he went into the coop to find four tiny little chicks darting in and out from underneath their Mommy! I was elated, and anxious to return home.

To make up for the time we were away, Olivia and I have spent our fair share of time hanging out in the coop holding these darling chicks.

Thankfully, Sassafras is an excellent chicken-Mommy. Unlike the hen which will go unnamed, this little Mama did NOT attack her offspring as they were emerging from their shells. She did an excellent job of sitting, taking the occasional water and food break, before returning to her nest. Now that her babies are here, she has protected them from the other curious and yes, sometimes cruel hens that attempt to peck her babies. They stick close to her, and she is the picture of patience as they peck at her waddles, and climb on her back when she sits down. It's all very adorable. We have LOTS of warm fuzzies going on over here! Fingers crossed that some of these babies are hens!