Broody hen DIED 2 week old chicks

[Chicken poppy]

Agreed.

I'm sorry about the broody. I would however check her over really well for signs of injury or lice/mites. Then check the chicks really well for lice/mites too. If there's bugs, then you'll want to address them.

Thank you. I don’t think she has any lice or mites, but i’m going to send her for a necropsy to see if i should be worried about anything.

 

[Chicken poppy]

What are the temperatures in the coop at night? Chicks that are 2 weeks old are much hardier than many give them credit for. They will be fine in a 72 degree coop as long as they can snuggle together. I have had chicks that young without a mother in the coop. One set had a cardboard box they slept in. It was very toasty when they snuggled together in it. Another time I put a heating pad out. It dipped below 40, but in the morning the chicks were huddled away from the heat pad, but they were fine. If your night temperatures are cool and you want to use a heating pad make sure it doesn't automatically shut off.

I’m not to sure the temps at night but i think around 50. It will be snowing tomorrow and get colder then it is today. Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some mama heating pad designs, and you can also find videos online.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...er-picture-heavy-update.956958/#post-14882145

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-i-made-a-mama-heating-pad-plate.74953/

 

[Shadrach]

There is a danger of this going horribly wrong.
Keep them in the coop, preferably in the nest they were hatched in. I wouldn't go the heatpad route.
If the nest is subject to any drafts then build a cardboard wind break around it.
At their age they should be okay, but, it does depend on the ambient temperature in the coop. If you've got constant well below freezing temperatures then you may have problems.

A warning from experience. You've mentioned you've got full sized hens and they haven't been looking delighted at the whole business. Mum isn't there to defend them. You need to think of more then just keeping the pullets/chicks warm. You need to think carefully now about integration assuming they survive. The easiest integrations are when the mother hen does the introduction to the tribe and the rooster.
So, has the rooster seen the chicks and imprinted them?

I would be seriously thinking about housing the bantams seperately from any other full sized breeds. This doesn't mean they have to be kept seperate during the day when ranging. Take advantage of that "birds of a feather" saying at this stage. There is an awful lot of truth in the saying.

 

[Chicken poppy]

I have moved them inside because they are really well at the whole flying thing, so kept breaking out, but also because in the corner they were at i couldn’t plug in anything heat wise. It‘s warmer in here so I decided to reintroduce them at a older age like 6 weeks.

Two of the hens i was talking about being kind to them seem to be very motherly towards them, one in particular. Gabby is grooming the chicks and seems to be following them around. Jolene is a little less loving towards them, she gave them a few pecks when they tried going under her, but not hard at all.

Now the babies seem somewhat attached to Gabby because they seem to want to follow her around. She’s not bothered by this and will come back to them but is clearly getting bored and ends up wandering off after hanging out with them for a bit.

I still take this as a win that they aren’t being hostile, but i do worry a lot about the bigger ones. I will keep this thread updated on what happens and I appreciate everyones fast replies. Should i let Gabby and Jolene be in there with the chicks for a while and get to know them?

 

[Chicken poppy]

There is a danger of this going horribly wrong.
Keep them in the coop, preferably in the nest they were hatched in. I wouldn't go the heatpad route.
If the nest is subject to any drafts then build a cardboard wind break around it.
At their age they should be okay, but, it does depend on the ambient temperature in the coop. If you've got constant well below freezing temperatures then you may have problems.

A warning from experience. You've mentioned you've got full sized hens and they haven't been looking delighted at the whole business. Mum isn't there to defend them. You need to think of more then just keeping the pullets/chicks warm. You need to think carefully now about integration assuming they survive. The easiest integrations are when the mother hen does the introduction to the tribe and the rooster.
So, has the rooster seen the chicks and imprinted them?

I would be seriously thinking about housing the bantams seperately from any other full sized breeds. This doesn't mean they have to be kept seperate during the day when ranging. Take advantage of that "birds of a feather" saying at this stage. There is an awful lot of truth in the saying.

Thank you, the rooster has seen them but i’m not exactly sure how much he likes them. I will show him the chicks again, i hope he’s gentle.
I ended up bringing them in for reasons as i posted below. I had just moved them and the mom out into the coop and Dixie was clearly not trying to mix them in with the flock yet. They are now in a very big ”brooder” as the photo below. This is where they have been in for most of their life so they are very familiar with it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know how they get along. Good luck.

 

[azygous]

Do you have a simple saucer shaped cat bed? My chicks over the years have loved sleeping in a furry cat bed after they weaned themselves off heat, but you can drape a heating pad over the flat cat bed and provide a space for the chicks to wiggle under and be enclosed in that closely resembles being cozy and safe under a broody hen.

To make cleaning it easy, I stuck a sheet of Glad Press 'n Seal over the cat bed, and another sheet stuck to the top of the heating pad. Simple to wipe each day with a damp cloth.

Remember, chicks under a broody hen warm themselves by direct contact with her warm under parts. Direct contact heat is the most natural and efficient. Chicks at two weeks would only need the heating pad to be at the medium setting, while at three weeks at night, the setting would be on low.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think it was better to move them and do provide them with a heat source. If inside they probably won't need it or may not even use it, but outside, likely your temps will be dipping in the 30s at night.
With a heating pad cave, I've found that chicks even though mostly feathered in sleep in the entrance, maybe to get a bit of warmth or possible using it as a feeling of security or place to hunker down. Make the cave high enough they can walk under, if they really need heat they will press their backs against it. If they just lounge, they will still feel a bit of warmth radiating down on them.

Hard to know if you should let the adults with the chicks or not. I've had non-broody hens that seemed a bit interested/curious for a day or so, but then chicks seem to get on their nerves. If Dixie was not mixing them with the flock yet, then she knew it was not time.

I do have a question. Dixie did not hatch and raise them with the flock - you just put her out with the flock and then you found her dead? Maybe I'm not understanding.

I had just moved them and the mom out into the coop and Dixie was clearly not trying to mix them in with the flock yet.

 

[Chicken poppy]

I think it was better to move them and do provide them with a heat source. If inside they probably won't need it or may not even use it, but outside, likely your temps will be dipping in the 30s at night.
With a heating pad cave, I've found that chicks even though mostly feathered in sleep in the entrance, maybe to get a bit of warmth or possible using it as a feeling of security or place to hunker down. Make the cave high enough they can walk under, if they really need heat they will press their backs against it. If they just lounge, they will still feel a bit of warmth radiating down on them.

Hard to know if you should let the adults with the chicks or not. I've had non-broody hens that seemed a bit interested/curious for a day or so, but then chicks seem to get on their nerves. If Dixie was not mixing them with the flock yet, then she knew it was not time.

I do have a question. Dixie did not hatch and raise them with the flock - you just put her out with the flock and then you found her dead? Maybe I'm not understanding.

Thank you for your response.

Dixie was separated from the nesting box after about 5 days because it was a popular egg laying sight. She was being disturbed and it was getting extremely cold so i brought her in and put her in a pet taxi crate for the rest of incubation and til about week two. I brought all the chickens in to see her every now and then so they still remembered her. I brought her out and three days after she passed.