Well CRAP! I went down to check my broody again and found this laying at the other end of her pen (6 foot long) from her nest :'( I think it has a bite mark on its back? Blood in its beak so it was alive, hatched sometime between 10 am and 5. The hen didn't seem upset? And this is the hen who was letting the other two chicks hatched last Sunday crawl on her and even snuggle underneath her?! We have her in her own pen because she was getting on edge with the other two hens and the chicks, so we moved her to her own pen this morning.
I know hens will sometimes kill their chicks unfortunately:/ But I just can't believe she would do that!? After she basically adopted those other two chicks (she was somewhat bothered that she couldn't get to them this morning when we moved them but seems okay now?) Ugh. Anyone have any insight for me here? Maybe there was something wrong with it and that's why she killed it? It's shell is gone also, not sure if that's normal? She has another egg due to hatch today so I am freaking out a little :/ Trying to just let nature take its course, but struggling
Dangit man! I had rose colored glasses on about this whole thing I think! I thought they would incubate the eggs for 3 weeks and hatch out all of their eggs into perfect fluffy little chicks and all would be perfect...yeah right! Lol! Anyway, any insight or thoughts are greatly appreciated 
Well this morning there were only 2 eggs left not sure what the deal is, I didn't find anymore dead chicks, but did find part of a shell and egg yolk on the remaining 2 in the nest. She was off the nest clucking around and so I grabbed the eggs, took them to the house, one was cracked had some vessels and a tiny chick about 1/4" long and then I candled the other and I could see it wiggling in there!
Wow did that make my heart jump! But then I was like well crap, i don't have an incubator...then remembered a friend of mine does and hatches out chicks all the time, so I called her and she has some in there now due to hatch this weekend, PERFECTION! I think this is one that was due to hatch Friday, so I tried to keep it warm, wrapped it in a towel and rushed it over to her house. In all it was about 45 minutes, so we shall see! It's name will be Lucky if it indeed makes it! So now she is eggless, I don't know whether to put her back in with the mamas and chicks that she was with before or leave her in her own pen and let her be?? THoughts?
I know hens will sometimes kill their chicks unfortunately:/ But I just can't believe she would do that!? After she basically adopted those other two chicks (she was somewhat bothered that she couldn't get to them this morning when we moved them but seems okay now?) Ugh. Anyone have any insight for me here? Maybe there was something wrong with it and that's why she killed it? It's shell is gone also, not sure if that's normal? She has another egg due to hatch today so I am freaking out a little :/ Trying to just let nature take its course, but struggling
Dangit man! I had rose colored glasses on about this whole thing I think! I thought they would incubate the eggs for 3 weeks and hatch out all of their eggs into perfect fluffy little chicks and all would be perfect...yeah right! Lol! Anyway, any insight or thoughts are greatly appreciated Well this morning there were only 2 eggs left not sure what the deal is, I didn't find anymore dead chicks, but did find part of a shell and egg yolk on the remaining 2 in the nest. She was off the nest clucking around and so I grabbed the eggs, took them to the house, one was cracked had some vessels and a tiny chick about 1/4" long and then I candled the other and I could see it wiggling in there!
Wow did that make my heart jump! But then I was like well crap, i don't have an incubator...then remembered a friend of mine does and hatches out chicks all the time, so I called her and she has some in there now due to hatch this weekend, PERFECTION! I think this is one that was due to hatch Friday, so I tried to keep it warm, wrapped it in a towel and rushed it over to her house. In all it was about 45 minutes, so we shall see! It's name will be Lucky if it indeed makes it! So now she is eggless, I don't know whether to put her back in with the mamas and chicks that she was with before or leave her in her own pen and let her be?? THoughts?
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