Hatching chicks

[Lockedintheshed]

Hello all out there in chicken land! I have 2 Orpington buffs sitting on 10 eggs, 3 of which are pipping away, it's now 21:00 gmt and they've been trying all day to come out. The sitting hens squashed a hatchling this morning and I think one of them is going to be a bit vicious to the chicks as when I moved the dead chick it really went for it and pecked quite nastily.

My question is really, how long should I leave it until I maybe offer a bit of help, the hole is about 4mm across at the minute.

Secondly in people's experience, is the pecking at the body just because the chick is dead and the hen needs protein?

Lastly, in my main hen house I have bad mites. I've stripped the house back (it's wooden sections, a really bad design), I've used Jeyes fluid, a mite killer, powders and in desperation a plumbers welding torch to burn the little blighters but still they keep coming back! My family think I'm getting pretty hung up on it now, but I just want them gone.

Please help...

Thanks

 

[L.L Farm]

You can try giving her more protein and see what happens. I've had a hen that killed all her babies once they hatched. If the hens keep pecking at the babies, it might be for the best to some how grab them and put them in the brooder. You might need a shoulder length glove

Just keep a close eye on them and update how they're doing

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html
good article on mites with treatment recommendation

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=491429&p=2
withdrawal time for sevin dust

You can also get poultry dust at the feed store (permethrin in my feed store) that I use too.

They have liquid permethrin spray that you can dilute to spray the house with.

From the chick breaking the shell (pip) to hatch can take 24 hours.

You can also separate your buffs into cages if you have them so that they don't kill each others' chicks (a broody cage). Just keep food and water right there so she doesn't have to get up from the nest to eat and drink. She will need to be let out too once a day at least to get exercise until the hatch is over, IMO.

Once they all hatch she needs access to exercise all the time, IMO.

 

[Lockedintheshed]

I'll keep you upto speed, fingers crossed...

 

[Lockedintheshed]

L.L Farm :

You can try giving her more protein and see what happens. I've had a hen that killed all her babies once they hatched. If the hens keep pecking at the babies, it might be for the best to some how grab them and put them in the brooder. You might need a shoulder length glove

Just keep a close eye on them and update how they're doing

I'll keep you updated, thanks​