Broody's eggs unexpectedly hatched....What do I do next?

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I take some wire fencing and form a circle with it. I put my momma hen and chicks in it on the floor of the coop. I put food and water within easy reach.

I have had chick jump out of nestboxes. I have had chicks go to far away from mom and can't return, and I've had other hens attack chicks and mom. It's best to let everyone become familiar with each other through a fence.

I keep mine separated in the wire circle for 1-2 weeks until all chick can keep up with mom, understand her calls and can get away from other hens. Usually after 2 weeks everything works out fine.

That's why I always move my chicks to the floor the first day because I have lost them like that.

 

[earlybird10842]

I'm really sorry to hear that, I feel pretty bad. I don’t know what happened. I hatch chick in elevated nests all the time and the only time I ever had a chick fall out was in a very small nest, a cat litter bucket that measured 7-1/2” x 11-1/2”. Chicks that hatch early often climb up on Mama’s back. When they fell off they missed the nest in that small nest and fell to the floor. It was summer and I tossed four chicks back in the nest with Mama before she finished that hatch and brought them all off the nest. That does not happen in my larger nests. They don’t miss the nest and fall out.

I don’t know what happened. I’ve found dead chicks before, but they were in the nest with Mama, not tossed out on the floor. I had a broody kill two of the eight chicks she hatched but raise the rest fine. I have no idea why she killed those two, but she pecked them to death. I don’t know if it was cold related or not for you.

If I were you with that experience I’d move them inside too.

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm really not sure, but they probably would have been just as likely to die if I had moved them really early on.

Hen was not on flat ground as I suggested. Make so hen can not go anywhere chicks cannot follow easily.

I don't think the hen went anywhere. This happened overnight.

 

[earlybird10842]

And there's a new twist in the tale. An old piece of metal I had pulled from a shed to cover the brooder had mites on it. Different brooder box has been found, and treatment has been applied to new box and the hen and chick.

 

[centrarchid]

Get rid of the box. Get rid of the new box as well. Used improperly boxes can cause death of chicks. Place hen and whatever brood she has left on ground. Ideal location is in corner.


Death of chicks very predicable when in setup you are using to collect eggs. Having chicks stray from nest is normal and not a freak accident.


I use two divergent setups for broody hens expected to produce chicks. First, and most frequently used. is like that shown by oldhenlikesdogs where hen roost on ground. Second involves something like a milkcrate or bottom of 55-gallon drum where chicks can not get out of nest. Latter requires you to release brood upon hatching.

Most deathloss attributed to young inexperienced hens is actually a function of nest sites and obstructions that make so chicks become separated from mothers too long. This can even be a problem in summer but is most apparent when ambient temperatures are low.