Broody behavior while chicks are hatching

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

Only three weeks ago, I had a broody kill her first baby and attempt to kill the others. On the advise of forum members, I removed the rest of the eggs/babies. I am afraid I am likely going down the same road again with this new broody. She is in a completely different location, of her choosing, secure and separate from the others. It is only 60° out today and she is panting in between sleeping for several minutes and then she pokes way underneath herself every so often. She also pokes at her side but that is only picking up straw and throwing it out of the nest, or on her head. The panting and poking under herself is similar to what the mama did when she was trying to kill her babies, except that it was much more frantic. I am wondering if I am in the first stages of the second broody also deciding to kill her babies? I have searched for many, many hours to try and find out if there is usually any reaction on the mamas part to her eggs hatching, but there is nothing. Although it is rare to have a mama kill her babies, with my luck, it is very likely to happen twice. I cannot bear to got through that again. In the future, all broodies will be given golf balls. I have a camera in front of my broody, I just have to figure out how to record and then upload a video, if that would even help?

 

[50-45-1]

I wonder why she is panting?
Is she in the sun?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

The act of picking up and throwing straw in the nest box usually signifies a hen is getting ready to lay an egg,. "Throwing" the straw is an instinct designed to cover the egg to protect from predators. I havent ever noticed any of my broodys perform that action while incubating, but i guess its possible the above instinct could still apply. When are her eggs due to hatch?

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

The act of picking up and throwing straw in the nest box usually signifies a hen is getting ready to lay an egg,. "Throwing" the straw is an instinct designed to cover the egg to protect from predators. I havent ever noticed any of my broodys perform that action while incubating, but i guess its possible the above instinct could still apply. When are her eggs due to hatch?

The incubated eggs I got I was told were due to hatch sometime this Sunday/Monday. But then when I was leaving with the eggs, she told me this Friday (today!). The eggs of broody’s own are supposed to hatch this Wednesday, the 2nd. I thought it would be within 2-3 days, but now it’s probably going to be a bit of a rough road with possibly a staggered hatch of 5 days. I gave mama some cut up green beans in a bowl of water and for the first time, she drank from a water bowl I offered her. She is panting far less now.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I wonder why she is panting?
Is she in the sun?

I’m afraid the panting could be from stress. She is in the shade. She made her nest in one of the cat houses and we had to enclose the whole thing and turn the catio into a place to house her and the babies.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I am sorry the chick-killing broody left you anxious and scarred. Yes it would be Extremely rare (& horrific) if that happens again with your current broody. Try to relax and believe this time will be ok. For me there is nothing more enjoyable than watching mama hen teach and raise her babies. Sending good vibes you will soon see that for yourself.

 

[Chicalina]

It is so rare you really need to stop stressing. And I suggest stop watching her on the camera!! There is nothing more you can do anyway, and 99% of broodies are good mamas. You've set her up for success so just wait now.

Trust in nature.

 

[Chicalina]

I’m afraid the panting could be from stress. She is in the shade. She made her nest in one of the cat houses and we had to enclose the whole thing and turn the catio into a place to house her and the babies. View attachment 2692868

The panting is thirst. You've fixed that now

Always look for the most obvious answer, not the obscure unlikely one.

Make sure she leaves the nest once a day to poop, drink and eat. If its hot, give her water while she sits on the nest either with a small bowl within reach (with big stones in) or I use a guinea pig gravity bottle sometimes and just hold it for her for a few mins.

 

[DobieLover]

What you described for hen number two is very normal behavior.
Give her water. She is trying to lower her body temperature because it is show time.
I like to use a "baby bottle" which I leave hanging after the chicks hatch so mom can teach them how to drink from it too.

She is arranging eggs under her as they are starting to hatch.
If you had a camera on her you could hear her talking to them. It's quite fascinating to remotely watch a broody hatch using a camera. You can watch all the normal behaviors between mother and chicks without interference from you.
I think you will have a much better experience this time than last.
Keep us posted.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

What you described for hen number two is very normal behavior.
Give her water. She is trying to lower her body temperature because it is show time.
I like to use a "baby bottle" which I leave hanging after the chicks hatch so mom can teach them how to drink from it too.
View attachment 2693884
View attachment 2693886
She is arranging eggs under her as they are starting to hatch.
If you had a camera on her you could hear her talking to them. It's quite fascinating to remotely watch a broody hatch using a camera. You can watch all the normal behaviors between mother and chicks without interference from you.
I think you will have a much better experience this time than last.
Keep us posted.

You are a life saver! I cannot thank you enough for this information! It seems like that is such an important thing to know, especially for someone like me, who has experienced things go really poorly with a broody. My broody now looks sweet and beautiful and calm as she prepares for babies. I cannot hear any sounds from mama though because it’s raining and all of my other chickens have decided to go under her house/nest area to get out of the rain. And they talk and sing all day long! Can you take a pic of the underneath of your water bottle? That looks like a perfect set up for them. Mama is inside the cat house, so I’m not sure how to get her off the nest to make sure she poops. I’m pretty sure I would not be able to pull her out of there. Should I force the issue? Yesterday was the first day she didn’t get off the nest.