Dusty Lasted Five Weeks This Time...Today, She Tried to Kill Them...

[WriterofWords]

Thanks!! I had to have help with it but I love it too! Duchess lets her babies run around and she eats and plays and dust bathes with them but she still rounds them up and makes them go to bed in the kennel they were hatched in. She has them in bed at 6:15 EVERY NIGHT no matter what and if I want them to eat I have to put the food in the kennel because she won't allow them out to eat. One of my frizzle very young girls hatched a little yellow chick last week. I had no idea she was sitting on the one little egg but it hatched, it's tiny and Duchess is trying to steal it from her.

 

[snowydiamonds]

I've been going round w/my one year old banty hens on this same problem. They hatch out fine, then they didn't like the yellow chicks, only the grey and the black chicks. Then they started pecking on the dark chicks yesterday! Thankfully I got there in time and took all the chicks away, so they decided the older feathered out chick was not allowed to live Her mama is Snow White, an older hen who adopts all babies, so Snow White and her chick are with the baby chicks and I've got the next two days off, to get everyone where I want them so they are all happy, safe and healthy. I'm mixing those mean young hens in with a different rooster. At first those young hens would take their chicks outside and leave them while I was at work until midnight, came home to cry myself asleep and decided to hang up heat lamps for the chicks. Then the hens got mean, I think they don't know what to do when the chicks begin moving around, exploring.

 

[insiderart]

Oh yeah, Dusty is soooo over it!

 

[speckledhen]

She mostly picked on the two chicks that were the least like her, it seemed, the Delaware and the lightest splash Orpington. Who knows what goes on in a chicken's mind, right? Anyway, hopefully, the nine chicks in the Firetower will learn to live together with little fuss and Glenda won't be too upset since she can see her three every day next to her pen. (already sold the black Orp boy with her and she didn't seem to notice he was gone) But, yeppers, Dusty is DONE, DONE, DONE with motherhood...at least till her next broody spell.

 

[snowydiamonds]

So far my year old Buff Orpington hen called "Big Mama" is doing GREAT with her first hatch, all the chicks look healthy, peeping out from beneath her soft silky butter yellow feathers and she's teaching them to eat and drink water today. I put a small piece of chicken wire up for their own area so the other BO's and the ducks cannot get to them yet. Fingers crossed Brewster the daddy is a great parent...I'm moving Big Mama and chicks to their own area once they start exploring or the ducks, do NOT want to lose any of these!

 

[ve]

Hi SPECKLEDHEN,I have one ye old Iova Blue hen who have bin broody 3 times.When is broody she do not eat too much.When she leave the nest she prefered to take dust bath,drink and for 10 min she is back in the nest.With the babies is so busy to protect them-no too much time for food.She lused weight.First time she started feather picking from other hens,second time she killed one babie.Sad part was -she was pulling feathers and skin from the babie and calling him to eat.Tird time I start feeding her Game Bird Chaw(sp),sunflower seeds,bird seeds and flock raiser.I taked her 2 or 3 times from nest to eat.Now she is with 3th bunch babies for 8 weeks and no problems.

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

Once I stuck some different chicks with my broodies own chicks. She accepted them but after a couple weeks she would peck and run the ones that were not hers off. I had to take them away. It was like she knew they were not her chicks.

I would use this broody as an incubator like someone mentioned and take her chicks when they hatch.....especially with 'valued' chicks.

Good Luck with her!!

We want to see pics of your chickies

 

[speckledhen]

They do lose a good bit of weight when they brood, don't they? Usually, here, they are given starter and sometimes game bird grower (20% protein) while they are with the chicks. I buy starter that still contains good quality animal protein as well. And several times a week, the broody and babies get scrambled or chopped hardboiled eggs to eat, along with a tablespoon or two of plain yogurt. We do try to keep their nutrition up during that time. Dusty hasn't lost anywhere near as much weight as some of my broody hens have.

 

[insiderart]

Cyn I just wanted to let you know I had to report Dusty to SCAN (suspected chick abuse and neglect). I didn't want to have to do it, but as a concerned citizen I felt that this was really a pattern and she needed to be checked up on by the proper authorties. Perhaps some parenting classes and anger management classes. Maybe she's postpartum and needs some antidepressants.

In any event be expecting a call.

 

[speckledhen]

She'll just have to surrender herself to the authorities.