My little sex offenders are in lockup til I get aprons made for all the girls. How long does it take before they stop being SO agressive with the girls? Really, someone ought to teach them about foreplay - this lowering the wings and running after the hens like a linebacker - not cool. And they jumped my poor little MALE Mistral Gris 8 week old birds - one was in shock for about 1/2 hour, I worried he would die from the shock. They gang up 2 at a time and both go for the head. Yuk!
It doesn't sound good, I'm sad to say. It may be his intestines hanging out a bit - I had one like that and had to euthanize the poor little guy. Is he whimpering/ crying? If he's in pain, then it would be a kindness to put him out of his misery.
I dont know what's wrong with him. Now that I look at it I don't think it's unabsorbed yoke sack. It just isn't doing good.
MM, I would definitely leave them in the bator. Especially if these are valuable eggs to you- you'll be kicking yourself if she abandons the nest. What I do now is incubate, watch how deep of a fugue state the broody is in, and put one under her at night and wait to hear if she starts making those lovely deep throaty noises to the chicks. ANY pecking at them, I take them straight back. I had a bad experience last year with a broody who killed 2 chicks overnights and mortally wounded another 2. Horrible, she seemed to take them at first. On much reflection and reading, I came to the conclusion that she was not in a deep enough broody state and still saw them as 'foreign' to her. I sit in the dark in the henhouse for 1/2 hour after I have put them under her, and wait. When they peep, does she make the right noises? Is she irritable, pecking at herself when they move around underneath her? You have 3-6 days to get them under a broody. Best if you do it around night 2 in my humble opinion. By then you know they are eating and drinking but they still really want to snuggle under and attach to a 'mommy'.
SO happy to hear Bert is improving and swearing in chicken at you - YAY!
You are a braver person than me if you get birds from the hatchery at the moment. We are all battening down the hatches and being VERY VERY careful about quarantine. I have a closed flock, and meet people in town to sell my eggs or day old chicks.
here's my broody with some of the 6 chicks. I did 'poopy butt' duty today and momma freaked out at me. Nothing like having your babies probed by aliens....
