- Mar 4, 2014
- 105
- 24
- 144
I started out with one broody hen who would not give it up. I eventually gave her a couple of eggs to sit on. Several days later another hen decided to be broody as well and took over the nest. The original broody sat in the next nesting box on a ceramic egg so I gave her a couple of her own. Things were working well. Three weeks later I went to check on them and there was a hatched chick all wet in the nesting box and the broody out in the run dust bathing. I took the chick and placed it under the other broody hoping it would stabilize. She seemed agitated and was pecking at it but then seemed to settle down. I stayed for probably 20 minutes and then left. When I went back to check on them, the baby was dead underneath the broody and the original hatcher was back on her remaining egg. I had a Brinsea brooder right in the barn and should have placed the baby under it until the original hen returned to her nest. This was a horrible learning experience but I wanted to share in case anyone else found themselves in this situation.
