Chicken Attacked-Babies Survived

[TotallyChik]

I had a mama Dutch Bantam that decided to nest in my tiny, fenced in 8 ft sq garden in the front yard. I tried to move her, but no go. Her chicks started hatching 2 days ago. Tonight my dogs heard commotion and then I heard peeps from chicks. When I went outside, I found a opossum eating the mother and chicks scattered. I managed to get all 5 chicks, although it was the middle of the night and really dark. One chick was dead. Another chick has most of skin on top of head missing and loss of blood. I put colloidal silver on it. One eye might be injured, but I can't tell right now. I quickly hooked up my incubator in the house to keep them warm (it's cold here in NC) and I am feeding them GroGreen supplement. I found the remarkable update on the homemade chick starter on this site. I will make that tomorrow. Does anyone have any other suggestions as to what I should do? I'm really distraught and about to cry over the loss of the mother. Dutch Bantams are precious chickens. I'm new to this forum, so I hope I'm on the right track.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC and sorry for your loss.


In future, if you may wish to consider putting mum and chicks in a mini-coop / dog crate. After the chicks are hatched there should be no problem in moving the mother and chicks to a place of safety.

CT

 

[TotallyChik]

Yes, thank you. That was the plan. I knew the eggs had not all hatched so I was going to move them over today. Sad that it was one day too late. I still have the others though. The one with the injury is surprisingly still alive. Having to hand feed because the one eye is swollen shut. Thank you again.

 

[Blooie]

Is the incubator the only warm spot you have available for them? If so, you know that won't work for long. Might I suggest you take a look at this thread? This is how I brood all my chicks and since yours have also been traumatized by the night's events, they will appreciate having a dark, warm space for security as well.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

The large pad is sometimes hard to find in a retail store, but Walmart carries the small one which is more than big enough for 4 chicks. It's the Sunbeam X-Press Heat, and you'd need to make sure you can turn off the "Auto-Off" feature and put the pad in "Stay On" mode or you'll have to be turning it back on every hour or so.

I brood my chicks outdoors. I have a pen within the run, so they are in full sight of the entire flock during brooding. They get used to each other and integration is usually flawless.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors


I'm so sorry about your little Banty Momma and the lost chick. Good luck with them, and keep us posted, will you please?

 

[TotallyChik]

Thank you so much for taking the time to type all of this information for me.

I have a small cage that I brought into the house and placed in my bathtub. It is sitting in a "sandbox" and elevated so I don't have to bend over all the time. I also have a brooder light over the top and have covered the outside open areas with old dish towels, keeping them away from the light. If this doesn't work, I will definitely try your suggestion of a heating pad. I had one, but I can't seem to locate it.

The little injured one of the 5 chicks is trying to stay alive. She can't see out of her one eye, so I am hand-feeding her. I don't know if the eye is injured yet. I am just watching and waiting. I hate to think I might have to cull that one or that she might not make it.

I would put them outdoors in my chicken house or in the greenhouse, but we have minks and weasels here and they have killed my chicks in the past. They can sneak through any small crack. I don't want to take any chances with these. I will keep them in there until I can move them to the greenhouse and then into the hen house in a larger cage. The older hens and roosters will be able to see them, so that should help a bit.

I believe I have so many predators because our neighborhood is full of animal lovers, especially chickens and the like. I believe we are all a drawing card for predators of all sorts. We have had foxes, weasels, coyotes, dogs, minks, opossums, raccoons and you name it. We are all a target and all of us have lost several critters.

Again, thank you for your kindness and concern. I'm keeping your message for future reference.

 

[Blooie]

You are so very welcome, TotallyChik. I hope your little one makes it.

 

[TotallyChik]

Thank you again. I just mixed up some egg in hot milk (organic of course), sort of like a custard and cooled to room temp. I offered it to the chick and she loves it.
I'm not sure how often to feed this or what else I can add, but when she sees me around the incubator, she starts peeping. I believe she has bonded. LOL Have a wonderful day!!!