Exactly a week ago I had a new hatch. 14 I did in the incubator, another 12 were being done by my broody bcm. One of the dozen was booted out of the nest a week prior, leaving her with eleven to finish off.
Hatch day seemed to be going well. I could hear peeping and saw babies poking out. The babies that had hatched were all fluffed so I checked to see how many. There were still eggs left under her, all but one had pipped so I left her to her business. The next day, I checked again, but no new babies! I stole all the eggs one by one and checked them; all but the unpipped one were dead, presumably suffocated as she had placed an empty shell over the pipped end of one of the eggs. The last living egg I finished in the incubator.
So, now my broody was left with seven living, fluffy chicks. All good, right? Nope. Next day, one was missing. After digging through the hay, I found it dead in the middle of the nest. Okay, stuff happens - the dead chick was a banty so I figured it was just too little to be under such a large mama. So now she was down to six. A couple days ago I lost another one and this morning found YET ANOTHER dead in the nest!
I decided not to trust her with the now remaining four and stole them from her this morning. Boy, was she mad! She's STILL grumbling about it!
During the days, she was an excellent, highly protective mother. This suffocating babies thing, is it because it may have been her first hatch? (I don't know her history, she's "used/second-hand"
) If she goes broody again in the future, should I give her another chance?
Hatch day seemed to be going well. I could hear peeping and saw babies poking out. The babies that had hatched were all fluffed so I checked to see how many. There were still eggs left under her, all but one had pipped so I left her to her business. The next day, I checked again, but no new babies! I stole all the eggs one by one and checked them; all but the unpipped one were dead, presumably suffocated as she had placed an empty shell over the pipped end of one of the eggs. The last living egg I finished in the incubator.
So, now my broody was left with seven living, fluffy chicks. All good, right? Nope. Next day, one was missing. After digging through the hay, I found it dead in the middle of the nest. Okay, stuff happens - the dead chick was a banty so I figured it was just too little to be under such a large mama. So now she was down to six. A couple days ago I lost another one and this morning found YET ANOTHER dead in the nest!
I decided not to trust her with the now remaining four and stole them from her this morning. Boy, was she mad! She's STILL grumbling about it!
During the days, she was an excellent, highly protective mother. This suffocating babies thing, is it because it may have been her first hatch? (I don't know her history, she's "used/second-hand"
) If she goes broody again in the future, should I give her another chance?
