Big Momma hatched her first chick today... need question answered ASAP

[drumstick diva]

sourland, you beat me to the punch I was going to say the same thing. The op said he "kicked her out of the box to get footage, etc." None of his questions concerned "should I kick her out and take pictures." If someone had replied immediately, they still would have been far too late to tell him how unwise that was. This isn't a movie set, a first time broody isn't a piece of scenery. I know that would have upset any new mom, to be pulled from her young. Being a broody novice there is a good chance she would have crushed her baby, or trampled the remaining eggs even without the photo shoot. just from stress, and not knowing how to be a mama.

 

[cparian]

I have been super busy with work & haven't been on for awhile. Sorry no one was there to help you.

When an egg is hatching it needs a certain amount of humidity to keep the chick from getting "shrink wrapped" inside the egg, which will prevent it from being able to break out of the egg. A hen will hunker down the last few days before the hatch to physically raise the humidity around the eggs with her body. Removing her from the nest during the hatch is not really a good idea. Plus her nature tells her to stay on that nest & not get up at all until all the eggs have hatched to ensure the correct humidity is held steady for all the babies. The whole time the chicks are hatching under her she will "talk" to them to encourage them to hatch & bond with them. Removing her may have upset the process.

You may want to consider getting an incubator in the future. It is a wonderful way for kids to watch the whole process thru the safety of the incubator window without compromising the hatch. I found one cheap on craigs list.

 

[wsdareme]

Quote:
Wow, those are some harsh words.

If I had known the answer to your questions, I would have responded. If it had been posted on the Emergencies thread, although you had questions but not an emergency, I'm sure someone would have responded sooner.

I have not found this site to be "like high school all over again" at all. People have been very good about responding, and only once did I have to re-post to get an answer (and it wasn't an emergency). I have learned tons and received excellent advice from many, many people in the BYC forum.

I hope you will give it another chance -- this is a wonderful forum.