Broody Hen in Decemeber!

[nchls school]

Today is day 19. I started helping him slightly after 14 hours, and now he's out of his shell, but one of his legs doesn't seem to bend. He's trying to get on his feet but only moves one leg.

Sounds like splayed leg; a common problem with incubators, but this was under a hen, right?

 

[UrbanSilkies]

Sounds like splayed leg; a common problem with incubators, but this was under a hen, right?

Yea, it was under a hen. It was only one leg, and if the chick tried to stand, it would face backward. Unfortunately, the hen stepped on her chick and it died. Other than the leg problem, the chick seemed healthy and kept trying to run around. The hen didn't seem to notice that her baby had hatched and she stayed broody. Since I don't have any chicks to give her, I'm trying to break her broodiness. The only thing that seems to distract her is if I take her to a new place where there are no nests. She gets distracted but also sometimes calls for her babies (she makes a certain sound when she wants to go in the nest). She's now back with the other chickens and went to bed instead of sitting on the nest so I'm hoping she's not broody.

 

[UrbanSilkies]

One of the chick's leg is by his side (the one he could move) and the other is left straight out.

 

[chickenchick4]

deformety