broody hatched 3 eggs still sitting on 6 more....

[JANAE]

broody hatched 3 eggs still sitting on 6 more....I am going to wait until thursday to see if any of the others hatch and in the mean time I have separated the chickes from the mom b/c they are ready to eat and drink and mom is still setting the other 6 eggs....if they dont hatch what do I do....

I have to fix the pen that she is in as the fencing is not chicken wire and the babies can slip right out....(they are soooo tiny)....so do I use the ice cube trick to snap her out of the broody or do I want her to be broody still and just take the eggs away.....I DEFFINATELY want HER to raise them outside so I can finally have my garage back (about 6 weeks ago I went and got 5 RIR peeps and they just went out this weekened to the backyard coops)......so now I have 3 coops up and running in the back yeard and HUBBY is NOT happy!!!

any advise would be great as I am sure you can tell Im new to this....but I sure am learing fast...

 

[L0rraine]

I'm dealing with kind of a similar issue. The first chicks hatched over two days ago. I took the remaining eggs away to give to our other broody, but she jumped off the nest when she heard peeping coming from under her and so I quickly ushered the peeping eggs back under the first broody. Guess I'll separate the two+ days old chicks into a makeshift brooder and try to get them eating and drinking. Sheesh, it's almost as bad as dealing with a missing shipment.

And yeah, I'm also trying to figure out how to rearrange everybody else so I can give Momma and the chicks their own safe housing outside. I've learned the hard way about chicks slipping through fencing and so try really hard to safeguard their temporary housing.

 

[fishermans wife]

Is there a way to put a small water dish and food in with mom and the chicks? That's what I did until everyone was hatched. May be messy, but it is usually only for a day or two.

 

[L0rraine]

The nest box is in a larger 2 x 4' box/cage that does have food and water in it and the chicks can get in and out of the nest. But the chicks didn't seem willing to leave Mom, so just a little bit ago I removed the older ones and tried to get them interested in eating and drinking. I think I got a tiny bit of water down them and a couple of them pecked a wee bit at the food. I will try again in an hour or two. Mom gets torn as to whether or not to come and rescue her chicks or cover her last few eggs and newest chicks. She briefly got off the nest a couple of times and I could see that two of the remaining eggs do have pips broken through the shell so I'm guessing there are definitely a few more chicks on the way (hope I didn't mess them up by causing her to get off the nest for a bit).

Thanks for your suggestion, it did encourage me to keep working with them in the nest area.

 

[JANAE]

my brooder is a box in my garage where they have a light and food and water...the are pooping great and chirping great....very alert and very FAST...

I am going to go get fencing today for the bottom of the coop....my question is will mama aka"goldie" take the baby chicks back and should I pull her eggs from unded her on thrusday or should I wait till the end of the week....?? the eggs were given to me on 2 different dates 2 days apart....and these three were in the first batch that I received.....so I guess Im asking how will I know when the eggs have had enough time...?? I SOOO want to get momma and her babies back together but I want to make sure everyone is happy and safe...

 

[L0rraine]

It seems that she would take them back, but just in case here is a suggestion I read a year ago or so that seems to work well for me. If the chicks are placed very near by so that she can hear their peeping she will eventually start doing a sort of growly coo (guess it's kind of a maternal thing) and then she should be happy to take them. This has worked for me on several occasions when I've brought chicks from the feed store for broody hens sitting on eggs that will never hatch. Once my hens start doing that cooing thing, I cup the chicks one at time in my hand and slip them under her (removing an egg or two at the same time).

Many people suggest doing it at night, but I fuss all night long worrying if everyone is okay or not, and day time has worked just fine for me.

 

[sben451]

I had a broody Welsummer recently who had 10 marked eggs under her. Sometime before hatching date, another hen or hens laid more eggs in the nest (which I didn't realize until nearly hatch day). Mom stayed on the nest for the first 6 chicks that hatched over a two day period, then she got off the nest and was watching the chicks eat and drink in the cage area we made for them (2 ft. x 5 ft. fenced with chicken wire, all inside the Welsummer coop). Two of the remaining eggs had pipped, but the membrane had evidently dried and they didn't make it out. I took the remaining eggs and put them in my incubator. Over the next week, eight more chicks hatched. The first two were given back to the hen with no problem--she accepted them and took care of them. But by the time the last 4 or 5 hatched, I was hesitant to give her more chicks and wound up selling the last chicks to hatch (I didn't really need to keep any more chicks and didn't want to deal with a brooder again after hatching several batches this spring. Mom and her 8 chicks are now in a small secure area that I fenced off inside the Welsummer coop. At some point she will want to get back with the other hens and I'm planning on making an opening for the chicks so they can get in and out of their pen and be able to get away from the other hens and the one roo. I'll postpone this move as long as possible and watch the chicks carefully for the first few days.

 

[L0rraine]

Quote:
I'm pretty sure my current batch includes a few snuck in after my hen went broody. I'm surprised that the chicks just keep coming. Just read under "Incubating and Hatching Chicks" that the chicks can go 72 hours before needing to eat and drink, so I'm a little less nervous about the health of the earliest ones to hatch. It's funny about the Moms wanting back with the the other hens -- this had been my past experience, but one of my Silkie hens that hatched babies last year was desperate to stay with her chicks. In the end she never was separated from one of the chicks (and they are best friends today).

 

[JANAE]

well I have ANOTHER PEEPER........I had no idea it took this long for them to hatch.......I checked after my second post and there was another shell broken open and I checked again and it is still in there...in the shell.......and the membrane was sry so I pulled a few of the broken peices off and she started kickin and I think by the time I finish this post she will be out......