One More Chick

As I was roaming around the barn like I do, checking on this one and that one, or just taking it all in with a silly smile on my face, I heard another peep-peep. Could it be another chick that hatched after I put mom and chicks in the chicken room? I searched the drain pipe where I thought they must have hatched and nothing there. What gives? The peep-peep continued but I couldn't find the peeper! Suddenly I stood up and saw the source of the peeping - inside a rabbit cage! The hen had been jumping up on a ledge between the barn rafters to lay her eggs, over the bunny cages. When the eggs hatched the chicks must have fallen, one by one, down from the ledge on to the floor of the barn. How she managed to keep them all together is beyond me, but the mothering instincts of hens are legendary. I retrieved the chick from the cage and carried it to mother hen in the chicken room. She was busy keeping the other chicks warm. I put it down next to her and nothing happened. I moved it to the back of her tail and the chick scooted under her feathers through the back door. I got a chair and found the nest - three more eggs! What to do, what to do? I knew they needed warmth or the chicks inside would die, if the eggs were fertilized, that is. I stashed them in the warmest, safest spot I knew - my sports bra! After carrying them around all day an unfortunate accident occurred when Holly jumped up and planted a paw firmly on the eggs. One cracked and revealed a dead chick. I decided to put the remaining two eggs in a bowl inside the propane oven in the trailer. The pilot light keeps them just the right temp without cooking the contents. The door is partially open so I can hear any peep-peeps. We'll see what happens! I have hatched abandoned eggs before with a light bulb and a cardboard box. It's so much fun to listen for the little muffled sounds inside the egg, then watch the tiny beak break it's way out - to a cold, dangerous world!