Mercibelle
Chirping
I have a hen (EE) who went broody while my wife and I were away for her baby shower that happened over the weekend (27 Apr - 1 May) . When we got back she had a clutch of approximately 5 eggs. We were thinking of removing them, however, wifey wanted chicks and we just so happen to have a Roo so we let her do her thing. Every so often after this I noticed that our hen would keep accumulating eggs, eventually equaling about 7in total. I eventually marked them so I would be able to gather extras that she would snatch and keep her clutch to a manageable size (should have probably thought of that sooner, but this is my first time having a broody hen and letting her incubate.)
Butter Chicken, our broody lady was an excellent mama during incubation, sitting and remaining in the coop to ensure proper warmth for the eggs. She was so dedicated I would actually have to remove her in the mornings to ensure that she was eating and getting water and pooping. (I had heard broody's poops are huge and smell terrible, but seeing and smelling is believing. Dear god.) She'd stay off the eggs for about 5 mins in total then would return to the brooder box to resume her everyday incubation activities.
I'm probably a horrible chicken mom, but I honestly let Butter do her own thing. It wasn't until much later that I learned that I needed to candle eggs to check progress. I figured that hens and chickens have been doing this for centuries without my help so therefore she would know what to do. And I was correct....sort of.
This Tuesday (the 23rd) I came out to check on my flock to give them their biweekly cabbage festival. And upon checking the coop I noticed that there was something that looked like a mouse in Butter's brooder box. I panicked as I was worried about a rodent trying to get to the eggs so I gently moved Butter and the eggs and noticed that one was missing. Upon closer inspection I realized that what I had thought was a mouse was instead a baby chick that had hatched and successfully but had been attacked and pecked to death. I'm more than sure none of my other hens nor my Roo are responsible as they give Butter a wide berth and stay away from her and Butter is also in her own solitary area within chicken coop/run that none of my other hens nor my Roo can access.
I know that it is common for a mother hen to sense when there is an issue with a chick and she takes it into her own hands to remove weakness and or any issues with problematic chicks. While I was upset at the loss of a chick I tried to adopt the "mother knows best" mindset. The chick was removed and Butter resumed her motherly duties.
The next morning I went to gather any extra eggs from my ladies and check on Butter and the eggs progress. When I arrived at the coop I was legitimately horrified. Another chick had hatched in the evening with the same result as the first, pecked to death. Another egg had appeared to pip, however it had been pecked apart and the chick was also dead. I caught Butter in the act of pushing another egg that had pipped out from underneath her and was proceeding to try to peck the shell. I was able to remove the egg before she severely damaged it, brought it into the house and was able to successfully hatch the little chick via a heatlamp that I had from when I raised my ladies the first time. The chick is currently safe and warm in a brooder and seems to be thriving, no signs of defects or deformities.
I went back out to check the eggs this morning and found another egg had pipped and instead of leaving it under Butter removed it and also successfully hatched it via the same heatlamp method. No signs of deformity or issues with this chick either.
I wrote this long story to ask if this is common behavior from a mother hen? Butter has been so great as a broody yet is a straight up savage Raptor chicken when the babies hatch and I am utterly terrified to leave anymore eggs underneath her when they show signs of hatching. Unfortunately, I don't have an incubator because I assumed that Butter would be able to care for and manage her chicks like a seemingly normal hen, so I have been checking the remaining two eggs for signs of pipping throughout the day. My mindset is to try and retrieve these two eggs if and when they show signs of pipping and attempt to hatch them via the heatlamp method. Are some hens great broodies but awful mothers?
Butter Chicken, our broody lady was an excellent mama during incubation, sitting and remaining in the coop to ensure proper warmth for the eggs. She was so dedicated I would actually have to remove her in the mornings to ensure that she was eating and getting water and pooping. (I had heard broody's poops are huge and smell terrible, but seeing and smelling is believing. Dear god.) She'd stay off the eggs for about 5 mins in total then would return to the brooder box to resume her everyday incubation activities.
I'm probably a horrible chicken mom, but I honestly let Butter do her own thing. It wasn't until much later that I learned that I needed to candle eggs to check progress. I figured that hens and chickens have been doing this for centuries without my help so therefore she would know what to do. And I was correct....sort of.
This Tuesday (the 23rd) I came out to check on my flock to give them their biweekly cabbage festival. And upon checking the coop I noticed that there was something that looked like a mouse in Butter's brooder box. I panicked as I was worried about a rodent trying to get to the eggs so I gently moved Butter and the eggs and noticed that one was missing. Upon closer inspection I realized that what I had thought was a mouse was instead a baby chick that had hatched and successfully but had been attacked and pecked to death. I'm more than sure none of my other hens nor my Roo are responsible as they give Butter a wide berth and stay away from her and Butter is also in her own solitary area within chicken coop/run that none of my other hens nor my Roo can access.
I know that it is common for a mother hen to sense when there is an issue with a chick and she takes it into her own hands to remove weakness and or any issues with problematic chicks. While I was upset at the loss of a chick I tried to adopt the "mother knows best" mindset. The chick was removed and Butter resumed her motherly duties.
The next morning I went to gather any extra eggs from my ladies and check on Butter and the eggs progress. When I arrived at the coop I was legitimately horrified. Another chick had hatched in the evening with the same result as the first, pecked to death. Another egg had appeared to pip, however it had been pecked apart and the chick was also dead. I caught Butter in the act of pushing another egg that had pipped out from underneath her and was proceeding to try to peck the shell. I was able to remove the egg before she severely damaged it, brought it into the house and was able to successfully hatch the little chick via a heatlamp that I had from when I raised my ladies the first time. The chick is currently safe and warm in a brooder and seems to be thriving, no signs of defects or deformities.
I went back out to check the eggs this morning and found another egg had pipped and instead of leaving it under Butter removed it and also successfully hatched it via the same heatlamp method. No signs of deformity or issues with this chick either.
I wrote this long story to ask if this is common behavior from a mother hen? Butter has been so great as a broody yet is a straight up savage Raptor chicken when the babies hatch and I am utterly terrified to leave anymore eggs underneath her when they show signs of hatching. Unfortunately, I don't have an incubator because I assumed that Butter would be able to care for and manage her chicks like a seemingly normal hen, so I have been checking the remaining two eggs for signs of pipping throughout the day. My mindset is to try and retrieve these two eggs if and when they show signs of pipping and attempt to hatch them via the heatlamp method. Are some hens great broodies but awful mothers?
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