Hatching Completed

First hatch family photo.

This morning, it being day 23 of incubation, I arrived at work to find the struggling Cream Legbar chick from yesterday had finally managed to hatch.

Sadly, the chick was not in a good condition. It was noticeably sluggish and much weaker than the others. On transfer to the brooder I found its little legs were badly splayed and scraped at the joints. Despite gentle coaxing it wasn't taking food or water, so this evening I decided to euthanise the unfortunate chick.

I didn't realise I was going to become attached to the chicks so quickly. The little one's fate had played on my mind all afternoon. Twenty-two days to make and less than a second to dispatch. I hope I did so swiftly and efficiently. There is slight consolation in the fact it was a male.

Meanwhile, back in the brooder, there were now seven very active youngsters, which are shown in the image above:

• Chick 1: Welsummer female.
• Chick 2: Cream Legbar female.
• Chick 3: Cream Legbar male.
• Chick 4: Cream Legbar male.
• Chick 5: Welsummer female.
• Chick 6: Welsummer female (I think).
• Chick 7: Cream Legbar male.

So overall we've got three Welsummer females (I think), one Cream Legbar female and three Cream Legbar males. At least that's what I'm thinking at the moment!

Of the twelve eggs I started with eight have hatched, which represents a 66% hatch rate. That's a little lower than I had hoped for, but for my first attempt at hatching eggs, which were delivered in the post, it could have been a lot worse. I am already planning my second batch of hatchlings, as I'd quite like a few more Cream Legbar females.

All the chicks in the brooder appear strong and in good physical condition, so I'm confident they'll grow well over the coming weeks.