Broodies Killing chicks, Help!

[The Lisser]

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Are there non-broody hens in the coop with the broodies? They could be the ones pecking the chicks. How many eggs do you have left? Would they all fit under one broody? From all the posts I've read on this topic, I think it's best to separate broodies when it's close to hatching time. My neighbor did this with her 8 month old silkie and this first time broody was a wonderful mom. Do you have a large pet crate or carrier that you could put the mom in with the nest? My neighbor moved them to a separate building where it was warm and quiet so the mom wouldn't be stressed.

I would be worried about moving the eggs to a brooder when they are hatching because of the risk of the eggs getting shrink wrapped. Would it be possible to move the mom and nest somewhere where you could watch her more easily and if she seems to be pecking the chicks, move them right away?

Good luck!

 

[Diamante]

2 or 3 of the 7 hens are off and on broody. When the last eggs were close to hatching there were 2 hens that werent broody. We had planned on bring 1 broody in with the eggs. They'll be in my room so ill be able to check all the time. Thanks for your help.
Lisa

 

[oesdog]

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Just to say Rancher is a really good guy - wouldn;t do or say anything to deliberatly hurt you. He has a great knowledge of chicken keeping and is a good person to help you out!!!!!!!!!! So is Ranchhand who has helped me sooo much!!!!!!!

Oesdog

 

[Bunnylady]

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This was my first thought. I had to learn the hard way to separate my broodies - often the first sign I had that hatching had begun was finding a chick that had been pecked to death on the floor of the coop. It wasn't my broody hens doing it, it was the rest of the savages out there!

So far, I have had good luck most of the time when moving a broody hen and her clutch of eggs. I have had the odd hen that stressed out to the point that she just quit sitting, but most of them go right on as if nothing has changed. Good luck!

 

[kathyinmo]

I can just tell you my experience.....

I had 3 broodies all at the same time. I left one alone, in the Layers coop. I moved 2 of them into an 8 foot long rabbit hutch; one at each end. All three broodies were due the same day. As each one started hatching, EVERY one of them killed their first chick. I don't know why..... Anyway, the one in the Layers coop hatched out her other 4, and was fine. The 2 in the rabbit hutch did fine, with some intervention. Each one hatched half of their eggs. I took the chicks and put them with one mama, and put the remaining eggs under the other one. I put a piece of wire and cardboard between these two, so they could not see each other. The one on the eggs continued to sit, and hatched them over the next couple days, while the mama with the chicks got off the nest and took care of those babies.

I have found my roosters to be quite protective over mamas and chicks. I have never had a problem with a rooster bothering chicks. Not to say that is how it always is..... Just my limited experience.

Currently I have a mama with her 2 chicks that were hatched in the Layers coop. (I have 3 rows of nests, and she was in the middle row, middle nest). I did not even want this broody EE to sit, but my son let her sit on 3 eggs (2 were her own). Surprisingly, none of the other layers added eggs to her clutch either. I have never done anything with this group. Nothing special for them, no extra area for them, nothing. As I said, I didn't even want this girl to sit and hatch. There are about 40 hens in this coop, and a couple roosters. No one has ever bothered these chicks, and the mama is wonderful with them. If they were all this easy, that would be nice.....

This picture is dark, but can you see the rooster there? He is protective of them.

Here they are about a week ago.....

 

[tuesdays chicks]

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Its hard not to when everytime i ask for help on here i get yelled at by someone. I need help keeping these chicks alive when they hatch. I dont want these to die like the last ones.

how can you forget to take eggs out for 21 days. The eggs don't hatch overnight. Mark the eggs that are in the nest and are going to hatch and remove any new one's.

 

[jenlynn4]

Listen, I dont feel you did anything wrong...you would have no idea that your hen would kill the chicks! (now you do) take it as a learning experience and learn from it. Next time separate your broody hens and keep track of the time when the eggs go under her this way you will know exactly when they will hatch and then you can make it a point to check on them alot when the eggs are due and pull the chicks as they hatch. We all have had things like this happen, so no one is perfct, its just remembering what went wrong and fixing it for the next time. Thats how we learn. Were all human!

 

[FlipFlopFarmer]

without slamming you( i see that has already been done), YES is the answer to your brooder question, u can hatch eggs in ALMOST ANYTHING, u just need correct temp and humidity, and turn them. thermometer, CHECK, hydrometer,CHECK, both are available usually from walmart cheap and digital, Heat sourceCHECK, u just have to play around to see what wattage bulb, hands to turn eggs CHECK!!! Good luck, and try not to feel judged by the BYC, I see it gets a little heated on here! OH, and look at the BYC's incubator page, there are TONS of cheap ideas!

 

[kathyinmo]

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Lisa,
I would just leave them to hatch, maybe you can stay there with them? I don't know, but maybe they would go ahead and hatch in the brooder if they have already pipped, but I know I have lost some after the pip .... Pip and quit. I don't know.... But, whatever you do, I wish you good luck.

 

[featherbaby]

From what I know, I would not put a wet washcloth over the eggs, they might drown. You need the correct humidity for sure, but in the air, not in direct contact with the egg.