sad news... I checked on Wendy whose eggs are due tomorrow. a chick had already hatched, it was laid in the broody's nest so possibly had a head start. the others are not pipped yet. well, she crushed it. the chick hatched out completely, but she laid on it too hard and killed the chick. it was almost flattened into the nest. I pulled the other eggs and gave her fake ceramic eggs, the real ones are now in the hatcher.
what do I do??? how can I trust her now?? is it because she has not been sitting long enough, she doesn't know to keep her weight off them? I watched my other 2 broodies Beetlejuice and Bertha carefully hover over the chicks, lifting their bodies off them. is she just too heavy/fat? maybe if she sat the full 21 days she would be thinner. today is her day 8 or 9 I think. she was contributing to Bertha's nest for 10 days prior to sitting down solid.
I guess I am going to hatch these chicks inside. let them get a little stronger and then give them to her? how can I know that she won't kill them again?
bleh
Edit: she is really PANCAKED into the nest hard. and there is a lot of nesting material in her box, a few inches thick and rounded out. maybe if I removed all the nesting material she couldn't crush them. I dunno
what do I do??? how can I trust her now?? is it because she has not been sitting long enough, she doesn't know to keep her weight off them? I watched my other 2 broodies Beetlejuice and Bertha carefully hover over the chicks, lifting their bodies off them. is she just too heavy/fat? maybe if she sat the full 21 days she would be thinner. today is her day 8 or 9 I think. she was contributing to Bertha's nest for 10 days prior to sitting down solid.
I guess I am going to hatch these chicks inside. let them get a little stronger and then give them to her? how can I know that she won't kill them again?
Edit: she is really PANCAKED into the nest hard. and there is a lot of nesting material in her box, a few inches thick and rounded out. maybe if I removed all the nesting material she couldn't crush them. I dunno
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