We have a 1st time broody hen that was sitting on 8 eggs. Yesterday we discovered that 2 of the eggs had hatched and the new mother was running about with 2 chicks following her. I felt the other 6 eggs and they were fairly cold, so we took them into the house and warmed them. There are signs of life in all of the other 6 eggs.
The 1st chick hatched at around 07:00 this morning. We made sure it was dry and then attempted to introduce it to the new mother at 14:00 but things didn't go well. She pecked and scratched the chick with her feet and we needed to remove the chick as we were sure the hen was going to kill it. Another chick has hatched at 20:30 and a 3rd one could hatch in an hour or two.
The mother hen is isolated with her 2 original chicks. We don't want to risk putting the 2 newly hatched chicks with the mother tonight as she may kill them. Is it worth putting the 2 unhatched eggs under her now?
We only started with hens 6 months ago, so don't know what the best plan is. Thanks in advance for any advice...
The 1st chick hatched at around 07:00 this morning. We made sure it was dry and then attempted to introduce it to the new mother at 14:00 but things didn't go well. She pecked and scratched the chick with her feet and we needed to remove the chick as we were sure the hen was going to kill it. Another chick has hatched at 20:30 and a 3rd one could hatch in an hour or two.
The mother hen is isolated with her 2 original chicks. We don't want to risk putting the 2 newly hatched chicks with the mother tonight as she may kill them. Is it worth putting the 2 unhatched eggs under her now?
We only started with hens 6 months ago, so don't know what the best plan is. Thanks in advance for any advice...