August Hatch along?

[Jules929]

Good luck!

 

[Perris]

for you @anvia

 

[MROO]

Okay - Update on my broody. I gave the nest a quick glance, and there she was, sitting calmly, all puffed up and giving me a nasty stinkeye, which surprised me, because Miss Piggy has let me handle her this whole time. Then I checked the feeder and waterer, and there she was again. I glanced back to the nest, thinking I had the perfect chance to count and check ... and Piggy had teleported back, instantly. What the #$!!?
Looking closer, I noticed a small bald patch at the base of Piggy's tail. It's not Miss Piggy, it's Pepper, my first broody, whose chicks are raised and ready to go. Apparently, they've swapped places, and both appear to be fine with the trade-off.
At this point, I have NO IDEA what's in that nest! Pepper won't let me anywhere near it and I know from her last clutch that she'll fall apart if I take her off long enough to candle. I don't even have an accurate set date. We were all back and forth to the Fair for over a week and everyone thought everyone else had marked the calendar. I was counting on candling this week so I'd know about when they were due to hatch and how staggered they'd be. Guess that's not happenin' now. So, folks, I guess we're all in for a surprise... including Pepper!

I AM SO ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED RIGHT NOW! And I have nowhere to direct either emotion!

Pepper/Piggy's clutch (under Pepper for the last week and a half) started to hatch, this morning. We had one beautiful little baby at about noon. I checked on her this afternoon and there were nine unattended eggs (out of the original eleven) in the nest and Pepper was all puffed up in the far corner of the coop. Thinking that she had abandoned her nest as "goners" ad moved her new family, I went to move her back to a less exposed corner, and was shocked to find a bloody baby under her.

I did a quick search of the coop and found no sign of the missing baby/egg. There was not even a shell to be seen ... anywhere. Looking at the abandoned eggs, i realized that the eggs were still clustered and the nest was not soiled. That indicates to me that Pepper did not leave it willingly. She was likely forced off of it by another hen or the rooster.

This is the second time we've had a chick attack, both under Pepper's watch. I have a sinking feeling that it's Miss Piggy, but short of starting all over again, I have no way of proving it. It's definitely not Pepper. She's super protective of that baby and keeps tucking it under her. For now, I've moved the entire nest box into the house. It's currently residing in my downstairs shower. Pepper has settled back on her eggs, with the baby underneath of her. I'm cranking up the incubator, just in case, but so far, so good.

So, now the dilemma. How do I figure out which of these little buggers is doing in the babies? It looks like we'll have to subdivide the coop. There's room, it's just such a nuisance to maintain all those separate feeders and waterers.

I think Pepper will go into a separate pen with our best rooster. I may give him our smallest hen, too. I can't imagine little Beauty being the aggressor, here. If she'd gone after Pepper's babies, she would show some feather damage and likely some bleeding. Instead, she was hiding on the highest perch she could find. It has to be either Miss Piggy, who is big enough to be a real bully and has been complaining loudly about not being able to free-range anymore (sorry Piggs - we have a hawk!) or their rooster, Captain Cuddles.

If I leave Piggy with the Captain, I'll have to collect all of her eggs. They'll either have to go under one of the other hens or into the 'bator. Not hatching is not an option, right now. These are Nankin Bantams, which are critically endangered. With the regular hatching season pretty much over for the year, we've only gotten eight live babies - and three of those were seriously injured by another flock adult. Poor little Iris will carry a bald spot for life - and if today's little one survives (it should) it will likely have the same issue. Poor babies!

I think I've covered everything. I hope my logic is sound. Any questions, insights and/or advice are welcome. I have GOT to figure this out before we lose more!

On the plus side, I just delivered a potential breeding pair - my first generation here at home - to a young lady who wants to help preserve the breed. Thank you, Anna!

Sorry this is so long. I had to vent and write this out. It helps me think ...
Thanks for reading through my "book!"

 

[MROO]

@Sakai

Humidity is controlled by the amount of surface you have that's wet. A plate that you can just put water on may work better than paper towels or a sponge.

I found that warm water worked better than cool for less heat loss; it corrected humidity percentage more quickly so I didn't add too much water and see the humidity go too high once it warmed up.

Make sure that water tray comes out before hatch, though. My daughter put in a small lid with water in it, thinking she was helping - and a new baby drowned in it. She was SO upset!
Have you tried a natural sponge? It holds a lot of water, but doesn't leave any laying around.

 

[MROO]

...a watched kettle never boils...

Yeah, but wouldn't you know ... the first time you stop watching ... the dang thing boils over! It's so HARD not to watch!

 

[anvia]

I AM SO ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED RIGHT NOW! And I have nowhere to direct either emotion!

Pepper/Piggy's clutch (under Pepper for the last week and a half) started to hatch, this morning. We had one beautiful little baby at about noon. I checked on her this afternoon and there were nine unattended eggs (out of the original eleven) in the nest and Pepper was all puffed up in the far corner of the coop. Thinking that she had abandoned her nest as "goners" ad moved her new family, I went to move her back to a less exposed corner, and was shocked to find a bloody baby under her.

I did a quick search of the coop and found no sign of the missing baby/egg. There was not even a shell to be seen ... anywhere. Looking at the abandoned eggs, i realized that the eggs were still clustered and the nest was not soiled. That indicates to me that Pepper did not leave it willingly. She was likely forced off of it by another hen or the rooster.

This is the second time we've had a chick attack, both under Pepper's watch. I have a sinking feeling that it's Miss Piggy, but short of starting all over again, I have no way of proving it. It's definitely not Pepper. She's super protective of that baby and keeps tucking it under her. For now, I've moved the entire nest box into the house. It's currently residing in my downstairs shower. Pepper has settled back on her eggs, with the baby underneath of her. I'm cranking up the incubator, just in case, but so far, so good.

So, now the dilemma. How do I figure out which of these little buggers is doing in the babies? It looks like we'll have to subdivide the coop. There's room, it's just such a nuisance to maintain all those separate feeders and waterers.

I think Pepper will go into a separate pen with our best rooster. I may give him our smallest hen, too. I can't imagine little Beauty being the aggressor, here. If she'd gone after Pepper's babies, she would show some feather damage and likely some bleeding. Instead, she was hiding on the highest perch she could find. It has to be either Miss Piggy, who is big enough to be a real bully and has been complaining loudly about not being able to free-range anymore (sorry Piggs - we have a hawk!) or their rooster, Captain Cuddles.

If I leave Piggy with the Captain, I'll have to collect all of her eggs. They'll either have to go under one of the other hens or into the 'bator. Not hatching is not an option, right now. These are Nankin Bantams, which are critically endangered. With the regular hatching season pretty much over for the year, we've only gotten eight live babies - and three of those were seriously injured by another flock adult. Poor little Iris will carry a bald spot for life - and if today's little one survives (it should) it will likely have the same issue. Poor babies!

I think I've covered everything. I hope my logic is sound. Any questions, insights and/or advice are welcome. I have GOT to figure this out before we lose more!

On the plus side, I just delivered a potential breeding pair - my first generation here at home - to a young lady who wants to help preserve the breed. Thank you, Anna!

Sorry this is so long. I had to vent and write this out. It helps me think ...
Thanks for reading through my "book!"

I’m so sorry- I totally understand how upset you must be.
From our experience with broody hens I have found they can be massively aggressive too & surprisingly so. Over the years I learned through our loses to give a broody her own safe house and enclosed run - but still visible and in the flock and their area, and leave her to sit out her trance in peace, alone, with her own feed and water and that solved all our peculiar attacks.
Once on her own I did find it really important to go out once a day at least and “wake” up our broody & make sure she ate & drank. I’ve never had two broodies on one nest - but from our experience broodies can be very protective and aggressive.
Can you choose one mum to continue on the nest and set her up on her own? - at this stage I wouldn’t move the nest - have you got enough space to evict the others & set them up in a separate house & run and leave mum to her hatch? I’m sorry to say we have had experience of our broody hens savaging other hens and chicks when they’ve stayed in the main hen house. We mistakenly thought they needed the company of the flock, but it honestly doesn’t seem to be important - once they start their broody trance they are perfectly happy alone, and everyone seems safer for it.
Once the chicks are hatched & all is well we open up the run so mum can be roam with the main flock again & mum will protect her babies just fine - but we found she’ll choose go to bed with her babies in her broody house for a few weeks rather than rejoin the main flock, and she’ll teach her babies to eat and drink from their water - and she’ll guard those resources for a while too - woe betide anyone coming over to check out her feed!
Again once they get bigger she’ll integrate herself and her babies back into the flock later on.

 

[MROO]

All good advice. The confusing part of all this is that it wasn't the broody who went ballistic - it was either Papa or a non-setting "auntie!"

For the last (first) clutch, I separated Pepper and her nest, but kept them inside the main coop. The thought was that the others could see and integration would be smoother. Unfortunately, the babies found one more hole than I knew of and escaped into the main coop to explore. Pepper couldn't follow them, and they were beaten up pretty badly by another adult - Piggy or Cuddles. I pulled all four youngsters and raised them in a brooder with two incubator babies.

This time, Piggy started the set, but abandoned them midway. Pepper, always the mother, stepped in and took over. She's been great, even to going back on the nest now that it's safely moved away from the coop. Hopefully we'll get a couple more little ones before she's done, but we'll see.

I have another coop and run, but it's occupied with a small flock of Sebrights that someone was supposed to pick up last week. I never should have bought those sweet little peeps. Not only are they taking up coop space I need for my Nannies, but they're the reason I am no longer "allowed" to enter Tractor Supply during Chick Days unless accompanied by one of my teenagers! The meanies!

 

[anvia]

All good advice. The confusing part of all this is that it wasn't the broody who went ballistic - it was either Papa or a non-setting "auntie!"

For the last (first) clutch, I separated Pepper and her nest, but kept them inside the main coop. The thought was that the others could see and integration would be smoother. Unfortunately, the babies found one more hole than I knew of and escaped into the main coop to explore. Pepper couldn't follow them, and they were beaten up pretty badly by another adult - Piggy or Cuddles. I pulled all four youngsters and raised them in a brooder with two incubator babies.

This time, Piggy started the set, but abandoned them midway. Pepper, always the mother, stepped in and took over. She's been great, even to going back on the nest now that it's safely moved away from the coop. Hopefully we'll get a couple more little ones before she's done, but we'll see.

I have another coop and run, but it's occupied with a small flock of Sebrights that someone was supposed to pick up last week. I never should have bought those sweet little peeps. Not only are they taking up coop space I need for my Nannies, but they're the reason I am no longer "allowed" to enter Tractor Supply during Chick Days unless accompanied by one of my teenagers! The meanies!

I’m wondering if Piggy decided the newly hatched chick was a threat to the eggs? If Pepper is sitting she’ll realise they are hatching, but Piggy hasn’t got that far & she might still be guarding the eggs? So Pepper is protecting the chick from Piggy - but she has to leave the nest to do it because Piggy wont let the chick near the eggs - you’ve got two broodies in this situation?
I know running two lots of feeds is harder work , but mum raising chicks is way less time intensive than having to run a brooder ect, it’s probably less disruptive to just separate Pepper & the nest and leave her to it somewhere safe? It great that’s she’s taken her nest back - what a fantastic mum!
Tractor supply store sounds great! I’m amazed you can just buy day old chicks!? - we don’t have that here - I suspect I’d be divorced if I could get hold of chicks that easily!

 

[Pugsabi]

I’m wondering if Piggy decided the newly hatched chick was a threat to the eggs? If Pepper is sitting she’ll realise they are hatching, but Piggy hasn’t got that far & she might still be guarding the eggs? So Pepper is protecting the chick from Piggy - but she has to leave the nest to do it because Piggy wont let the chick near the eggs - you’ve got two broodies in this situation?
I know running two lots of feeds is harder work , but mum raising chicks is way less time intensive than having to run a brooder ect, it’s probably less disruptive to just separate Pepper & the nest and leave her to it somewhere safe? It great that’s she’s taken her nest back - what a fantastic mum!
Tractor supply store sounds great! I’m amazed you can just buy day old chicks!? - we don’t have that here - I suspect I’d be divorced if I could get hold of chicks that easily!

Then you'll definitely want to avoid Texas. Not only do we have Tractor Suppy but Atwood's, too. My personal favorite, Denton land and farm, has day olds all the way up to point of lay.

 

[MROO]

It great that’s she’s taken her nest back - what a fantastic mum!
Tractor supply store sounds great! I’m amazed you can just buy day old chicks!? - we don’t have that here - I suspect I’d be divorced if I could get hold of chicks that easily!

Sounds good, but I only have one broody, Pepper. She's the "dedicated mom" type. Miss Piggy is more like her namesake - the Muppet, Miss Piggy. She's just one big boatload of "pretty" with attitude and a temper! Brooding holds her attention for a bit, but then it's off to new adventures with nary a look back. She's a great layer, but she's a real stinker!

And no, you don't want a Tractor Supply Company around every corner. It's SO HARD to resist Chick Days ... especially when they're down to the last few bins and they start getting mixed up. Then they ALL become like rescues ... and they need me!