Mom & Baby

[Nal0114]

So yesterday my hen hatched her first baby. While I don’t want to interfere with mom’s business the nesting box needs cleaned. How can I go about this without making mom want to walk away from the baby.

 

[Ridgerunner]

At some point the hen will take the chick off of the nest to find food and water. They will probably never return to that nest so you will have plenty of time to clean it. That chick will go with her when she leaves, she will not abandon it.

I don't know if any of the other eggs will hatch or not. I let the hen manage that and pick her time to leave the nest.

 

[Nal0114]

just leave the feces?? I didn’t plan on touching the eggs. I’m not touching anything. I just know it’s not sanatary for the 1 day old chick to be in the nest with piles of

 

[Ridgerunner]

just leave the feces??

As long as they are dry they are not going to hurt anything. They have to be moist for the bacteria that can cause harm to grow and multiply.

 

[Nal0114]

So it’s been several months since mom lost her baby she grieved for awhile and has since moved on and started brooding again.

The problem is she’s suffocating the chicks that hatch. She had killed 3. They don’t have a chance because she refuses to move and they die.

Can she be suffering from PTSD? What do I do? To prevent this