I love Lucy (no pun intended) but this is the very last time I will allow her to hatch.
Lucy is at least 4 yrs. old. She was purchased as an adult. She is a beautiful and healthy langshan and she goes broody every couple of months. She has hatched quite a few chicks for me.
This past summer she hatched and raised 7 healthy chicks. That was her 3rd time to raise chicks and her largest hatch.
She went broody again when they were 6 weeks old. I broke her but a few weeks later she was broody again. I only gave her 3 eggs because I didn't really want too many chicks. She hatched one healthy chick. One partially hatched but looked like it had been squashed. I thought it was probably an accidental death.
6 weeks ago she went broody. I gave her 6 eggs. One broke. Little by little, the eggs disappeared until there were only two. (No signs of snakes or rats.) She hatch one healthy chick. The other chick was squashed before it could completely hatch.
Lucy has been a great mother, as usual to the surviving chick..until now. It's only 3 weeks old and she deserted it. She went in the big coop and roosted tonight leaving the baby in her brooder. I went out to check on it and found it alone and chirping pitifully. I put it in with the 10 week old brahmas, who hang with the chick and lucy during the day (they still are piling, not roosting). The baby snuggled up and went right to sleep. I hope it will be fine.
I'm not trying to anthropomorphize a hen but I think she is a b**** for leaving that baby. She only seems to want one and then she deserts them before they are ready to fend for themselves. The last one was a bigger and able to get in the coop at night. This one just seems tinier than my other chicks have been, although it is very healthy.
I won't let her hatch again.
I just wanted to whine a little. Feel free to share your own rant if you like.
Goodnight ya'll.
Lucy is at least 4 yrs. old. She was purchased as an adult. She is a beautiful and healthy langshan and she goes broody every couple of months. She has hatched quite a few chicks for me.
This past summer she hatched and raised 7 healthy chicks. That was her 3rd time to raise chicks and her largest hatch.
She went broody again when they were 6 weeks old. I broke her but a few weeks later she was broody again. I only gave her 3 eggs because I didn't really want too many chicks. She hatched one healthy chick. One partially hatched but looked like it had been squashed. I thought it was probably an accidental death.
6 weeks ago she went broody. I gave her 6 eggs. One broke. Little by little, the eggs disappeared until there were only two. (No signs of snakes or rats.) She hatch one healthy chick. The other chick was squashed before it could completely hatch.
Lucy has been a great mother, as usual to the surviving chick..until now. It's only 3 weeks old and she deserted it. She went in the big coop and roosted tonight leaving the baby in her brooder. I went out to check on it and found it alone and chirping pitifully. I put it in with the 10 week old brahmas, who hang with the chick and lucy during the day (they still are piling, not roosting). The baby snuggled up and went right to sleep. I hope it will be fine.
I'm not trying to anthropomorphize a hen but I think she is a b**** for leaving that baby. She only seems to want one and then she deserts them before they are ready to fend for themselves. The last one was a bigger and able to get in the coop at night. This one just seems tinier than my other chicks have been, although it is very healthy.
I won't let her hatch again.
I just wanted to whine a little. Feel free to share your own rant if you like.
Goodnight ya'll.
