NOOOOO!!! I'd be stuffing the rest of the eggs in my shirt and...It'd drive me crazy.
Then I have exploding rotten eggs going off in my blouse.
I am not cut out for such things.
Ha ha, no, it's not easy to watch her reject the eggs. But in my experience (3 separate hatches) the Momma Hen has
never abandoned viable eggs. Generally speaking, the ones that don't hatch are dud eggs - the chicks have started developing but quit part way through. You have to trust that Momma knows what she is doing in that regard. I always candle the eggs after she has abandoned them, and it's quite obvious when they have died.
If you watch the broody close, you can candle the leftover/late eggs and see IF any might be worth trying to save.
You need to have a hard nosed approach (cut your losses, help the few who will make it) to this whole thing in a nice way.
Scott
Agreed. As I said, I've never found a viable chick after the eggs have been rejected though. I think nature's way is to manage clutches so that all good eggs hatch out within 24-48 hours of each other. More often than not, those who don't hatch in that time frame have some other issue and are simply not fit to hatch. I have heard of some people assisting 'cling wrapped' chicks, but there must have been a reason they didn't hatch out correctly in the first place. It is very much 'the strong will survive' I have found.
Yes, letting Mother Nature run its course is not easy at times. Psycho Broody and baby are doing well, eating and drinking. I am putting up a sight blocker so she can have some peace and not be stared at by the dogs.
Am I right in thinking that there was only one chick? Oooh, that Momma Hen will love her little baby, won't she?! I always kept my Momma Hens and chicks partitioned from the main flock. They could see and be seen by them, but not touched. If it weren't for the fact that I have a cat with a killer instinct, I would not separate them at all. But I was worried my chicks would become her lunch, so they spent the first three months of their lives in their own little spot in the coop. All is well now though, they are integrated with the flock and about to start laying. Any day now.......
X2 Plus I'd never be able to cull the roosters, and my mom does NOT want roosters.
Yes, that is the bad part of raising chicks. Out of my 3 hatches I got 3 pullets (all of which I kept) and 8 cockerels I believe. I was lucky enough to rehome them all, but if I hadn't been able to do that they would have gone off to auction as 'meat birds.' I have one rooster and he is great, but one is enough!
- Krista
