Nervous chicken grandma

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chick grandma

chick grandma

Hatching
5 Years
Jul 29, 2014
2
0
7
One of my hens hatched an egg & then two days later buried her other eggs in the straw.
Why? Did I do something wrong?
 
chick grandma said:
One of my hens hatched an egg & then two days later buried her other eggs in the straw.
Why? Did I do something wrong?
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Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. You didn't do anything wrong. Your hen may be going broody, and if so, she is likely burying them to keep them warmer and protect them from predators while she is off the nest eating or drinking. Feel free to ask any more questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.
 
I agree with Michael, sounds as if she is going broody, she will continue to hide her eggs until she decides she has enough of them. Then she will sit on them until they hatch.

If you have a rooster they are probably fertile eggs - if you don't have a rooster the eggs will never hatch. In that case you could buy some fertile eggs and swap out hers and put the good ones in the nest.

She would hatch the chicks and raise them as her own.
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
frow.gif


X3 Sounds like she is going broody. She will hide them so they are safe, and when she feels there are enough eggs in her clutch, she will then begin the incubation process. The day she starts to set on them, start counting the days. The chicks should hatch sometime around day 21 give or take a couple days. Make sure she is not disturbed by other hens or roosters and don't let others lay in her clutch. It may help to section her area off so she is by herself. Keep food and water nearby. Make sure the nest box is not too high off the floor so the chicks don't fall out. And sit back and watch the show!!

Good luck with your broody and keep us posted!
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! Not sure if I am reading it right, but did she hatch one chick and then bury/abandon the unhatched eggs two days later?
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

X2, make sure she is safe and as comfortable as possible. Keep her isolated in a crate or something so she can't be disturbed by other birds and remember to feed her chick feed when the chicks hatch as the layer feed will damage the chicks' kidneys.

After she has laid her clutch she will incubate them. The eggs should start hatching within 21-30 days.

Have fun with them and welcome!
 
It sounds as if the eggs have already been incubated and once the first egg hatched, she abandoned the nest. Anyway, what I think she is doing is trying to keep the eggs warm while she watches the chick. How long has she been off the nest for?
 
Yes, more or less. She hatched the one from the eggs she has been sitting on then covered the others up. I'm wondering if I made
her nervous because I was putting water & food in there for the baby, then we blocked them off from the rest of the chickens. When
I looked this morning she is sitting where the eggs are buried, but then she doesn't have much room to move around.
 

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