sophia in the house

[chris631]

just an update, rica and lolo, welcomed their second baby this morning, I'm naming them as they come, Milo hatched late monday,sophia at the crack of dawn this morning, mom and dad are frantically feeding and sorting the nest. Just perplexed about how they are hatching,1st egg was thanksgiving day, sec didn't arrive till late sat night then she went every 2 and a half days. Guess I'll give it till after the new year before removing any eggs. I'm also assuming they eat the shells, i'm not seeing any remanants .wish i could get a closer look, but as it is when i just reach into the cage to change their veggie dish rica flys out of her box and goes into full attack, I wear a glove now, lol,well pics will follow as soon as i can get close enough.Happy holidays to all. Chris

[LauraO]

Congrats on the babies. I'm glad everything's going well. Sometimes egg hatching is erratic and hard to predict. I've had eggs hatch a full ten days or more late and was very happy I didn't discard them. Not only that, but unhatched eggs also keep mom from sitting too tight on the babies.

I think it's great your giving your lovies veggies. During this time, I offer as many soft foods as possible as dad doesn't have time to digest them before feeding mom and later babies. I suggest you boil the veggies as well as offering brown rice, egg, and beans.

YEP! Mom and dad often eat the shells. It's actually a very functional behavior given how calcium depleted mom gets with making eggs.

I know your hen is very nesty and on attack mode, but it's important that you check in with the babies daily to ensure they are healthy and being fed. Sometimes human intervention is needed and you don't want to lose a baby in the meantime. I've had babies being plucked, not fed, having somehow gotten tied up in string mom got from somewhere, and there are other countless stories of things that could go wrong. What a lot of folks on the board suggest is you use a spatula, or something similar, to block the nestbox hole when mom comes out to attack. You can then check on babies and make sure all is well. Me, I just reach in and take the bites as I lift mom off the eggs and move her to another location. It is painful, and sometimes bloody, but it works for me.

Good luck and congrats once again:D

[Janie]

Congratulations and I really do like the names you're giving them as they hatch! :D