Broody

[Bejep714]

We have a broody hen who has been sitting on some fertile eggs for a while. Shes pale now which has happened before, and we see her up and outside some times every once in a while. Should her health be an issue?

 

[sourland]

I would check to see that the nest is not infested with mites.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Her pale comb just means she isn't laying eggs, that's normal. A broody gets up occasionally to eat, drink, take a poop, and maybe take a dust bath but spends most of her time on her nest. All that sounds normal. It's always a good idea to check for roost mites, a broody hen sitting there can be a target. For most of them mites are not a problem but they can get serious if they show up.

 

[Bejep714]

So today I went out to the coop and the hen was outside so I looked inside and an egg was broken and there was a dead baby chick. I dont know if it hatched or was broken, I'm pretty sure it hatched, but its head was missing. There was no blood, but I was wondering if the mom hen killed it? Is that normal or sort of common?

 

[WIchickMama]

Head missing like born without or missing like eaten?

 

[Anime2lover]

So today I went out to the coop and the hen was outside so I looked inside and an egg was broken and there was a dead baby chick. I dont know if it hatched or was broken, I'm pretty sure it hatched, but its head was missing. There was no blood, but I was wondering if the mom hen killed it? Is that normal or sort of common?

If it was missing as in eaten, then you should probably take the rest of the eggs into an incubator.

 

[Bejep714]

It had no fur or anything, the whole thing looked wierd. But over the week we hatched 2 healthy chicks and right now they are all inside with the mom. But I have a question, we have alot of staw in the cage area and the mom is pushing alot around, could we worry about the chicks getting covered?