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I use a stuffed animal too for chicks that I get that don't have a mom. They love it. TSC used to sell stuffed chickens, and those were the best! For this brood of babies I got from the hatchery, I also made them a microwave rice bag that I then put inside an old sock and tied it up. I warm...

Cute family. :)

If they were mine I would leave it alone, unless the eggs are pipping, and you really want more chicks. IME, the mother hen knows what she's doing, and I don't interfere unless she has abandoned the chicks or is trying to hurt them. If the eggs are not pipping it's possible they weren't viable...

That's true that some are more susceptible than others. We had a brood of eight last fall. Of those, four came down with the disease. One died, I had two euthanized. The other survived and now seems happy and healthy, I used vitamin concentrates and Hypericum and lots of TLC to get her back to...

Cute picture.

That's strange, I've never had that experience where the others attack the broody while she's on the nest or when she gets off to get food and water.. We've had them try to eat the eggs when she's not on the nest, but never have I seen them bother the hen.. But yes, I would as a matter of...

I've also noticed that if the babies are pullets, or mixed sexes with mostly pullets, the hen will stay with them longer than she does with cockerel chicks.

Quote: Oh, yeah, at 6 weeks she's done with them. Some broodies stay with their chicks longer, but it just depends on the hen. They're fine at that age. It sounded like they were younger.

Is she letting them stay under her at night? If it's going to be sub zero and they are newly hatched, you might want to consider bringing them inside. they do need help staying warm, until they get fully feathered. That is, if you can catch them1

Sorry for your loss. :( Always hard.

That;s the way it is with our cats too! I think they know they're not allowed to touch those.

It's normal, some of them won't quit setting....I'd give it another couple of days, til Wednesday or so, and if no more hatch I'd take the rest of the eggs away from her and assume they're probably duds. That way she can concentrate on her babies.

Quote: This past summer i had a careless broody that went into the broody coop without her chicks, it rained hard that night and all the chicks died. She seemed quite depressed, it took over a month for her to start laying again. Your hen will eventually get over it, but for the chicks sake...

Quote: We cured our one rooster who had a biting problem...every time he tried to bite I would pick him up and cuddle with him. He hated it, but he quit biting, and he is one of the tamest, nicest roos we have now.

And it doesn't matter if the one hen is just on a pile of straw, as long as the eggs are not going to roll out of the nest. She'll make a deeper nest in the straw, so they stay in.

Quote: Some people discourage the hens from co-mothering. Co-mothering is common. I just leave them alone. Last time that happened, when the chicks started to hatch we divided up the chicks and the hatching eggs between the two mothers and put each in her own pen with her own batch of...

Quote: We have a little buff silkie hen, Izzy Lou. She's a tiny little thing, and she is broody now. When she sees a roo anywhere near her she practically turns herself upside down, puffing herself up and spreading her wings, growling at him, trying to make herself as big and intimidating as...

Quote: Yes, they will eat them. Who knows why. For one thing they might decide that the eggs are duds. Sometimes they just eat eggs. Boredom? Inexperienced mom? Dietary deficiency? We had one little banty hen once, who I would've loved to have babies from, eat ALL hers over a period of...

Gosh, no; don't take baby away from mama! That's the reason you want to use broodies!!! Mama will teach baby everything baby needs to know about everything and provide protection and comfort, too.