Nine Bantam Dorking Chicks Hatched

Hens lay eggs with, or without a rooster.  If there is a rooster present the eggs should be fertile and will hatch only if a hen sits on them for 21 days to incubate them or if the eggs are placed in an incubator.  Not all breeds of hens are broody, which means not all breeds of hens will sit on their eggs, however Dorkings are a broody breed and our hens sat on their eggs without any encouragement.

The first hen was on a large brood of eggs but only two hatched.  This may have been due to the awful spring weather at the time.

Our second Dorking hen started to sit on a smaller clutch of eggs in July, and on August 2^nd they hatched out. There were nine chicks total. One egg never showed any signs of hatching and one egg had just started to hatch but the chick died while still inside.

Our bantam Dorking chickens are silver grey, which is a color that indicates male and female chick right at hatching. The hens are dark or black, and the cockerels are lighter, often with stripes. Because of this we were able to determine that four of the tiny chicks are hens, including one who is chocolate brown, and five are cockerels (males), including two which have very pronounced stripes rather like a chipmunk.

These chicks are tiny. Bantam chickens are smaller than regular, or standard, chickens. These little chicks are only about two inches (5 cm) tall. 

The hen stayed in the nesting box with them for the first day but the next day we found her with a few of them on the ground. Four more remained in the nesting box area, unsure of how to get down, they huddled together. I picked them up to put them down with the hen.

Young chicks are amazingly smart. Recent studies have suggested that young chicks are as smart, and capable of doing things, as a two year old child.

Mother hens are always clucking to their chicks, making different sounds to indicate different things; “Come here”, “Danger”, “Let's eat”, “It's safe to wander around, but here I am just in case you want me”.

The rooster wanders around and makes sounds to alert them to danger or food (as when I throw in some chicken scratch or small bits of brown bread). He will not harm them and acts as a guardian, even though he is pretty small too.

For now the chicks stay very close to their mom. She sits down with her wings spread out to make room for all of them to find shelter and warmth underneath her body. As they grow they will continue to follow her and learn from her. They are already “scratching” the ground to find food. The chicks will start growing different feathers and will not be as fluffy in a few weeks time.

Update.  Sad news, the brown chick died two days later.  We found it in the nest, not sure why it did not survive.

Links and Information on Chickens

Over the past few years we have really enjoyed keeping chickens, at first we kept onlying laying hens for eggs.  At one time we bought 5 week old silke chicks and raised them, it turned out that three of the five were roosters, and as we had no plans on eating them, we sold them.

Last year we kept hens and roosters, with one pair hatching out nine cute chicks.  Sadly a fox killed the other hen so that rooster was left alone.

Keeping chickens as pets has been rather fun, and except for when we had the roosters with the hens we have enjoyed their eggs too.  I totally encourage others to keep chickens as backyard pets and wish more cities allowed people to do so - I am lucky to live in the country so there are no regulations in this regard.

I have encountered many interesting questions about keeping and raising chickens had have provided some links here in case anyone is wondering the same thing.

Why Won't My Chicken Eggs Hatch? - This article addresses common reasons why eggs do not hatch.

How are Chicken Eggs Formed?  - Interesting, weird and maybe not good to read before breakfast.

Abnormalities in Chicken Eggs - The eggs you get at stores are often perfect but not all eggs are so perfect. 

When will my Hens Start Laying?  - Usually hens start laying eggs at five months of age, but not always.

Below are some articles specifically related to chicken breeds.  Selecting the right breed is very important, some chickens are friendly and make great pets, others are suited for laying, meat, or are dual purpose.

About Orpington Chickens - A popular dual purpose chicken breed

Araucana and Ameraucan Chickens - The ones that lay blue or green eggs.

Bantam Chickens - Small chickens well suited to being kept as pets.

Silkie Chickens - Fluffy and cute ones common as pets.

Of course there are more breeds than those listed, but these are the ones I am most familiar with and have articles on at this point.  You might also want to read an article on General Chicken Trivia.

Overall I have found keeping chickens to be great, they are not as stupid as people often make them out to be, and they enjoy being out free range in the yard.  Chickens will eat slugs, grasshoppers, and other insect pests too - even ticks.   They do need to be confined in a coop at night for their own safety.  Sometimes they may want to roost in a tree but they may be vulnerable from predators (mink, raccoons, and so forth).