Mama abandoned her chicks

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CBinSantaCruz

CBinSantaCruz

Chirping
Mar 19, 2013
40
0
92
Santa Cruz, Ca.
Hi,

Mama has had enough. She's not taking care of her three day old chicks. I don't want to set up a broader in the house if I don't have to. Will these things die at night if the lows get down to the upper 40's? What if I stick one of the chemical hand warmer things in box with them? I don't want to set up lights because of fire hazards. I could bring them inside but I don't want to do that if I don't have to. There are eight chicks. TIA!
 
Yes, they will die even at temps much higher than 40's. You got 3 choices; give them adequate heat, give to someone who will or, let them die
 
She left the brooder at some point yesterday and won't go back. She roosted on her perch last night. I shoved her in there this morning and she started pecking at them and grabbed one by the leg and threw it up in the air. Clearly motherhood is not for her. I hung a light for the chicks last night but I don't want to do that because there is too much straw and I'm a little paranoid. Crazy because she spent 3 weeks laying on these. You couldn't get her off the nest if you had wanted to. I wasn't expecting much but all the eggs hatched out except for one so she did that part right.
 
How frustrating! I hope the heat pad works well for you. I'm with you, I don't really like brooding chicks and really depend on momma hen to raise them. I guess if you really don't want to brood them you could sell them as day olds, that just depends on if you were counting on having them later or not.
 
they will be fine as long as they have each other. Get them one of those stuffed chickens you can buy at TSCfor them to cuddle under at night (that's what we've done before for orphans)...or any stuffed animal really will do. You can keep the light on them during the day, when you're home if you need to, but it's not necessary at night. They won't die, believe me. We had chicks once live through a brutal below zero cold winter, and they were little. they had their mother, but it was still plenty cold.
 
So sorry things didn't work out with your hen. This happened to me last year. She was a great setter, but attacked and rejected chicks. I was SO disappointed because I had really planned on the mother hen doing the work of brooding, feeding, teaching and protecting the chicks.

They will definitely need heat in order to survive. You might want to try an Infratherm Sweeter Heater. It's much safer than a heat lamp. I too was worried about a potential fire, so I switched from heat lamps to the Sweeter heater panel this year.
 
We have been using a Sweet Heater with great success, it takes less electricity, the fire hazard is almost nothing, and the chicks seem to really like it.
 

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