Hatch with a broody

[jessicaroo]

I did my first egg hatching with a broody hen. I had my white silkie sit on 4 eggs. 2 of them never developed, one of them hatched 3 days ago and the second chick hatched this evening. She sat on the 2nd chicks egg the whole time, until it came out. I just found it cold and lifeless in the nest and she was sitting away from it with her other chick. What went wrong? I stuck the baby back under her, hoping if she can warm it up, it might be ok. But not sure if it'll work.

 

[Nocila]

If the nest was up high, it's possible that the other chick fell out of the nest, or left for some other reason, and the mom followed, assuming the other chick would follow. It happens sometimes with broody hens and their chicks. I've almost lost a few chicks to the mom going down to the ground without them, and have always assumed that a chick fell out of the nest and the mom followed, thinking that it was time for them to move lower so the chicks could get access to food and water, something they don't need for the first few days. Considering the fact that this happened about three days after the first one hatched, it's likely that mamma hen decided the chicks needed to move out and get to some water...