A few months ago, I purchased some 4-week old cuckoo maran pullets, which were to ship November 17. After living in warmer climates for a few years, I conveniently forgot that in most places, November means cold weather. So order baby chicks for delivery in November I did. And all but one lone, scrappy little pullet died before delivery. So I now have a house chick who hopefully will one day give me nice chocolate eggs, and who now happens to think she’s a human. It’s kind of nice having a pet that can ride (and poop) on my shoulder, but she needs to realize she’s a chicken, and not try to steal my sandwiches. I found a breeder that has 4 week old chicks, so hopefully I can buy my maran some friends, and she will be less lonely. Right now she’s terrified whenever I turn off the lights, and she isn’t fully feathered out so she can’t live outside. I’m also kind of afraid Leedle Leedle will attack her, as he has kind of a tendency to go after the weak.
![IMG_2617[1]](https://cronanhomestead.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_26171.jpg)
On the hatching eggs front, I’m still shocked I haven’t killed these chicks yet. I just checked, and they’re in there moving around, but for the love of god I cannot get this incubator to rise above 100* and settle at 102*. It wants to hover around 93*. One thing I’ve learned in horse breeding is fetuses, if they’re strong, can survive a whole lot, and if it’s fertile and meant to be, those dang fetuses will be born.
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
