Broody Mama Quit

[Crazy_Beautiful]

So my mama quit on day 19.

No mites I looked. Just no longer broody. Didn’t puff up or anything. She’s already allowed the rooster to mate her … crazy girl.

I originally had 12 eggs. I put 6 under her and 6 in my incubator. She’s a bantam so I had thought 12 was too many.

So I just added her 6 to my incubator.

Should / can I check for viability tonight when it’s dark enough?
Did I screw up by adding them into the incubator meaning contamination? I just really had no other option

 

[NatJ]

I originally had 12 eggs. I put 6 under her and 6 in my incubator. She’s a bantam so I had thought 12 was too many.

So I just added her 6 to my incubator.

That sounds like the best thing you could do in this case.

Should / can I check for viability tonight when it’s dark enough?

Yes, you could check for viability, and remove any that clearly did not develop. If you are new to candling: try candling an egg that was never incubated, so you can see the difference. An egg that has been developing for 19 days should look quite different than an egg that has no development at all.

Did I screw up by adding them into the incubator meaning contamination? I just really had no other option

The eggs might have brought some bacteria in with them, but I don't see any reasonable alternatives.

Because they are so close to ready to hatch, there are not many days for any new bacteria to grow, so I would not worry too much. You will never have an incubator completely free of bacteria, so you just need to keep them at a low enough level to avoid problems.

 

[Crazy_Beautiful]

So far 1 hatched and from the eggs from under the mama. 2 more have started pipping. Today is Day 20.

I’m quite frustrated broody mama quit as now I’m having to acclimatize these chicks to the colder weather but I’m also so thankfully I was watching her so closely and these babies didn’t die.

 

[Crazy_Beautiful]

Any advice on how to get them ready for the cold weather is appreciated. So far I’m able to borrow a little coop that’ll fit in my run. I can set it up with heat. My concern is how to wean them off the heat.

 

[NatJ]

Any advice on how to get them ready for the cold weather is appreciated. So far I’m able to borrow a little coop that’ll fit in my run. I can set it up with heat. My concern is how to wean them off the heat.

I think the easiest way is to set it up with just one warm area (big enough for all the chicks to warm up or sleep at once), and the rest of their space as cool as the outside air. The chicks will typically spend most of their time in the warm area for the first day or two, but soon they will be spending large amounts of time running around and playing in the cool areas. They will run back to the warm area each time they get cold (frequently at first, less often as they get older.)

That is close to the situation they would have with a broody hen, where they run around and then go back under her to warm up.

The heat for the warm place can come from a heat lamp, or from a brooder plate, or from a heating pad cave, or from any other method that works for chick brooding.

Personally, I have done it with a heat lamp. I put the heat lamp in one corner of the brooder space, and I hang it relatively low. That means it only heats a small area, but that area is quite warm. I want it at least 95 degrees under the middle of the lamp, even in the coldest weather, but I do not worry if it gets much higher (like 110 degrees) under the lamp during the warm parts of the day. The chicks will move away from the heat as needed. I do not adjust the lamp at all-- just leave it there until I see that the chicks are spending all their time away from the heat, at night as well as during the day. When that point comes, I unplug the lamp, leave it unplugged for about 2 days while I watch to be sure the chicks do not miss it, and then take out the lamp.

But that heat lamp arrangement ONLY works in a brooder that is big enough. There MUST be a large amount of cool space, so the chicks can always get away from the heat, even on the warmest days. You do not want cooked chicks!

The more cool space they have, the more quickly the chicks can wean themselves from the heat. Put the feed and water near the warm spot for the first few days, then when you see chicks running all over the place you can move the feeder & waterer a bit further away. If you have really cold weather, keep the waterer just close enough to the heat that it does not freeze.

People who recommend a hating-pad cave, or a brooder plate, often describe the same behavior that I have seen with a heat lamp: the chicks spend large amounts of time in the cool area, but they go back to the heat to warm up, and they sleep in the warm area until they grow a good set of feathers. If you want to use a brooder plate, check the instructions-- many of them need to be used in a place that is at least a certain amount warm, because they do not make enough heat for chicks in really cold areas.

With any heat source, of course you need to be careful to avoid fires. Heat lamps are renowned for causing fires if they get knocked down. Heat lamps can be used safely, and other heat sources can cause fires too, but I think heat lamps probably are more dangerous than the other options.

 

[Debbie292d]

So far 1 hatched and from the eggs from under the mama. 2 more have started pipping. Today is Day 20.

I’m quite frustrated broody mama quit as now I’m having to acclimatize these chicks to the colder weather but I’m also so thankfully I was watching her so closely and these babies didn’t die.

It's a stretch, but once they are dry, I would try a couple with the hen and see if she suddenly gets her maternal instincts back. You just never know. I'd try it in the morning before they leave the coop and see if you can get private with her in there. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but if it does, run grab the other ones to give her too lol.

@NatJ has great advice, so I'll say no more. You got this!

 

[Crazy_Beautiful]

I think the easiest way is to set it up with just one warm area (big enough for all the chicks to warm up or sleep at once), and the rest of their space as cool as the outside air. The chicks will typically spend most of their time in the warm area for the first day or two, but soon they will be spending large amounts of time running around and playing in the cool areas. They will run back to the warm area each time they get cold (frequently at first, less often as they get older.)

That is close to the situation they would have with a broody hen, where they run around and then go back under her to warm up.

The heat for the warm place can come from a heat lamp, or from a brooder plate, or from a heating pad cave, or from any other method that works for chick brooding.

Personally, I have done it with a heat lamp. I put the heat lamp in one corner of the brooder space, and I hang it relatively low. That means it only heats a small area, but that area is quite warm. I want it at least 95 degrees under the middle of the lamp, even in the coldest weather, but I do not worry if it gets much higher (like 110 degrees) under the lamp during the warm parts of the day. The chicks will move away from the heat as needed. I do not adjust the lamp at all-- just leave it there until I see that the chicks are spending all their time away from the heat, at night as well as during the day. When that point comes, I unplug the lamp, leave it unplugged for about 2 days while I watch to be sure the chicks do not miss it, and then take out the lamp.

But that heat lamp arrangement ONLY works in a brooder that is big enough. There MUST be a large amount of cool space, so the chicks can always get away from the heat, even on the warmest days. You do not want cooked chicks!

The more cool space they have, the more quickly the chicks can wean themselves from the heat. Put the feed and water near the warm spot for the first few days, then when you see chicks running all over the place you can move the feeder & waterer a bit further away. If you have really cold weather, keep the waterer just close enough to the heat that it does not freeze.

People who recommend a hating-pad cave, or a brooder plate, often describe the same behavior that I have seen with a heat lamp: the chicks spend large amounts of time in the cool area, but they go back to the heat to warm up, and they sleep in the warm area until they grow a good set of feathers. If you want to use a brooder plate, check the instructions-- many of them need to be used in a place that is at least a certain amount warm, because they do not make enough heat for chicks in really cold areas.

With any heat source, of course you need to be careful to avoid fires. Heat lamps are renowned for causing fires if they get knocked down. Heat lamps can be used safely, and other heat sources can cause fires too, but I think heat lamps probably are more dangerous than the other options.

My plan is to keep them inside for the first week or two. I do like to keep an eye on chicks during that time.
The coop my neighbour says I can borrow is one of those Peavey Mart ones. So I can for sure have a cooler spot for them and they’ll also be able to wander in the run which is in a look don’t touch part of my set up with the rest of my flock.
I’m just concerned about the weaning them off the heat while the winter temps are setting in. If the weather man is right it’s suppose to get cold here fast.
I want to be able to move them in with my flock at around 8 weeks which will be mid Nov and my coop isn’t heated at all.

 

[NatJ]

My plan is to keep them inside for the first week or two. I do like to keep an eye on chicks during that time.

That makes sense.

The coop my neighbour says I can borrow is one of those Peavey Mart ones. So I can for sure have a cooler spot for them and they’ll also be able to wander in the run which is in a look don’t touch part of my set up with the rest of my flock.
I’m just concerned about the weaning them off the heat while the winter temps are setting in. If the weather man is right it’s suppose to get cold here fast.
I want to be able to move them in with my flock at around 8 weeks which will be mid Nov and my coop isn’t heated at all.

In that case, I would plan on moving them outside (with heat) after you want them out of your house.

For weaning them off heat, I find that chicks typically do wean themselves off the heat by themselves, after they have a nice set of feathers. It is not something I have to force them to do. I cannot say what age they will be fine without heat, because it partly depends on the chicks themselves. Some just do grow their feathers faster than others, no matter what you do as you raise them.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/to-hatch-or-not-to-hatch.1142170/#post-17767595
^Here is a linke to a post in another thread, describing one person's outdoor brooder setup. That person says their chicks are often done with heat by about 5 weeks (but they are in Louisiana, not Ontario.) A quote that mentins what "cold" temperatures they had:

I’ve had chicks less than 6 weeks old go through nights with a low of the mid 20’s Fahrenheit with no problems. They were in an unheated grow-out coop that had good ventilation up high but good breeze protection down low where they were...There is more to it than just age and temperature. The quality of your outside facilities, how fast they feather out, and how well they are acclimated all makes a difference.

20F would be about -6C
But it's really worth following the link and reading the whole post-- that person has some really good advice about brooders