chicks under broody hen gone wrong?

[jademccun1]

On Thursday I purchased 3 "one day old" chicks. After further (at home) examining I noticed they had small wing feathers. I looked it up online to see how old they actually were and it is most likely 3 or 4 days old. So here was the original plan: We were going to put the chicks under our very broody chicken. I had heard about people doing it at 3 days old so i tried last night. It seemed to go smoothly. The usually very aggresive broody chicken had calmed down. We put the chicks under her and went to sleep.
I woke up this morning and went right out to the coop. The broody hen was still just sitting in the nesting box and the chicks were just walking around with our 2 other grown chickens. The grown chickens wre not being violent but they were running away quite freaked out. So I tried to get the chicks back to the broody hen. I picked them up and put one in the nesting box with her she pecked it so hard it fell out of the box. then i put all 3 in she pecks them very hard on the neck,. Two go under her but the 3rd doesn't. She continues pecking her until the little chick is lying on its back looking dead. She stands up and leaves all 3. I now have them back in the box. I REALLY want to have her raise these chicks.
Did I do wrong by touching them once they were in the coop? Are they just to old? and should i try again tonight???
PLEASE HELP ME!

And if i can put them back again please tell me how.

 

[ValleyPoultryFarms]

I suggest if it failed once, it'll fail again. Not your fault, just the hens temperament. I had chicks hatch under a broody mommy, then took them and put em in a brooder.
I suggest you remove them and raise them manually.

 

[wolfpak]

This doesn't sound good..... If this were my flock I'd get those tiny chicks OUT of the coop ASAP!!!!! It doesn't sound as if your broody is going to accept them, & its likely she WILL kill them.

Also, your coop is most likely NOT warm enough for them! They need to be at about 95 deg, under a heat lamp, for the first week, (then decrease 5 degrees ea wk.).

Got day old chicks from Cackle Hatchery today - Post Office called about 6am. They were SHIPPED (Wed) when they were 1 day old. So, its very likely what you purchased was shipped in & they're actually 3-4 days by now. Mine also have teeny wing feathers (5 Delaware, 25 meaties).

Doubt if you did anything wrong at all in attempting to get your broody to accept the chicks, she is simply not interested.
GET THEM OUT & under a heat lamp ASAP, imho...!

 

[n8ivetxn]

I'm sorry.... My broodies just hatched my first clutch, so I'm no expert - but it sounds like she's rejecting them. If you keep putting them in there it's likely she'll kill them.

It may not be their age, it isn't because you touched them. It's just her. - It could be because she's a first time broody, or she hasn't been broody long enough, yet....could just be she's a bad mamma....

How sad for them (and you too)

Maybe someone with more experience will say something different?

 

[n8ivetxn]

x2 - what Wolfpak said

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

I would get the chicks out of there and raise them yourself. It would probably have gone a lot smoother if you would have waited until night when the broody was sleeping to place the chicks under her. Sorry you had to learn the hard way.

 

[jademccun1]

Thank you so much for the help. I have decided to raise them manually. I am kinda excited now...they are sooo cute

 

[n8ivetxn]

Cute little fuzzy-butts!

Mine are 4 weeks old now and just getting to the stage where they trust me and come to me when I call them

 

[wolfpak]

They're actually pretty easy.... we use an old leaky stock tank (scrubbed CLEAN, & disinfected) with a cheap heatlamp over one end. A small pheasant type waterer that fits on a qt. mason jar works well. Plain water or a drop or 2 of poly-vi-sol baby vitamins in water is fine. We use the inexpensive long red chick feeders, with the hinged top & holes in it for feed (chick starter), add some wood chips (NOT cedar) on top of a few layers of newspaper to make cleanout easy. Voila! Have raised many chicks this way..... You can use a little bowl or tin for food, as long as it doesn't tip over with having just 3.

In any case, they're adorable!!! Looks like 2 barred rock & 1 ??? Raising chickies is super entertaining... but WARNING!!!!! It is also VERY addictive, lol!
Enjoy!

 

[jademccun1]

one is a Dominik(?) one is a dark bramah and one is a winedot...I think