Hatching with 2 broodies

[HealthyMNmama]

@16paws yeah, long time no talk! Been busy with the farm. Sadly we lost 3 chicks this morning. 2 died in my basement in my hands... I was cryin. Cute fussy butts... and another from both broodies. ...

Oh no! How sad! I'm sorry for your loss.

Thank you FarmerViola, for the advice. As I called my boys in for supper, I popped back into the coop and barricaded one mom into the nesting tote (she had gotten back in on her own) and kept the other mom and 3 chicks out. It worked! Peeking out from under mama's wing is a tiny ball of tired fluff! The first chick hatched 8 days ago. We started with 27 eggs and are down to 10 now with 4 live chicks. Yay!

Nevermind. I'm so depressed. I took the boys out this morning to check on the chick. They were excited to see if it finished hatching since it hadn't before they went to bed. Midnight stood up and we found not one, but two chicks. Both dead. I think there was bacteria from one of the bad eggs (that I got rid of before they broke) or from a previous dead chick. I think the bacteria killed these two. They had dried off, but from my quick glance it appears at least one had maggots crawling around in a not-sucked-up yolk. Gross and sad. I need to go back out without a baby in one arm and figure things out.

I don't know if I should swap out the nesting tote with a clean one and transfer the last eggs and the hen or if I should just toss everything. What do you think?

We were excited to watch the mamas take care of their chicks. We've learned quite a bit this round and will do things differently next time. (Like separating co-broody hens, dividing the clutch of eggs, candling the eggs half-way through and discarding any bad eggs.)

 

[ItalyChickie]

Yikes you all are prolific! I am just popping in to give you a little update. We are just back from vacation and I have loads to do before going on a girls weekend to the Napa Valley on Friday

Norma has hatched 5/6 so far. They are due today. #6 is zipping.

I came home to 4 chicks the fifth had pipped and was out within a couple of hours and the 6th is chirping away in there. The chicks are darling red chipmonks. They do not appear to be sex linked in any way but once they are are all out I will be able to get a better look at them. For the first time since late March I do not have a broody on eggs or waiting for them...it's been quite the haul.

Remember the three Ameraucana/EE eggs that Beakface hatched....hold on to your hats but they appear to all be pullets. They are 6 weeks old today their combs have a single row of peas and there are no wattles yet. That I would get three pullets from shipped eggs boggles the mind but that is what I think I have. There is a dark blue a light blue and a sort of blue laced.

I definitely have two Marans girls too so things are looking up on the boy/girl ratio.

Thought I had lost the little white Marans boy last night. At bed time he was no where to be found. I was so sad but also confused because I had seen him a couple of hours earlier and knew he had been around There is a lot of chirping round here at bed time as chicks and mamas sort themselves out so I couldn't hear his "Help Me" chirp until everyone was tucked in. Once I heard it it iwas loud and clear and coming from...a light weight plastic dish that was upside down in the run. He had perched on the edge and it had flipped over trapping him inside. He was very relieved to be be found and tucked in with his siblings and cousins under Gracie Belle who continues to cover the 9 of them while Julie sleeps on the poo tray. They are 4+ weeks old so it is a bit of a stretch for her but she is dedicated haha.

Welcome back!!! Hope you had a wonderful vacation! (I really really could use one of those...)

I squealed with delight when I read that your girl/boy ratio is looking very good this time around!

It was about time Mother Nature made it up to you, after all of those boys in your previous hatches.

So glad you found the Marans boy! Great job, both of you (you for not giving up, and him for making himself heard).

I am looking forward to updated pics of everyone, including the new arrivals.

When the winds of life bring storms it's our friends that see us thru it.

Thanks everyone who gave advice and comfort during this awful couple days. If I had it to do over again I would of done many things different but I have decided not to look back and to look forward.

Out of seven eggs we gave Layla she has one lone survivor.She is a beautiful Brabanter. Her name is going to be Antie Emm in honor of the one that I got to take care of for less than a day. I dont mean to sound overly dramatic about this, please forgive me, I get attached at first sight and that broke my heart.

Enough said....

Layla is being a good mama to Emm and the two of them are adorable together. My question would be, Is one chick with mama ok or should I try and get her a day old chick from the feed store so she doesnt grow up alone. She is pretty special and I thought I read somewhere it is not good to just have one chick.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Marie

Just for the record, I don't think you're being overly dramatic. I cried my eyes out when I lost a chick last year in a similar situation - had saved his life after finding him cold and abandoned but still breathing with splayed leg, spent 3 days looking after him, then he disappeared just as he seemed to be doing better and I had given him back to mom. That one really broke my heart, so I know exactly how you feel.

But I also know I would have felt much better if I had this thread for moral support at the time - hopefully it is the same way for you!

I've never had one single chick, but I did have two with a broody last year, Bonnie and Clyde, and by the time mom abandoned them, Clyde was doing his roo thing and completely ignoring his sister, but Bonnie integrated just fine... I think the fact that mom stayed with them for about 9 weeks was a positive factor in this case, and that if you have a single chick left to fend for herself fairly early (3-4 weeks or so), it might make it more difficult for her... but since Layla is Cenere's twin, I have faith she won't abandon the chick so early, and hopefully she'll also bond with those due to arrive as well. Fingers crossed!

@16paws yeah, long time no talk! Been busy with the farm. Sadly we lost 3 chicks this morning. 2 died in my basement in my hands... I was cryin. Cute fussy butts...

and another from both broodies. The chick was in the egg but I think the bigger hen stepped and CrackEd it open. It was fully developed and was ready to hatch. So i separated the two broods. Gave the Seramas 11 chicks and the big hen can hatch out the last of the eggs that start hatching this weekend.

I'm so sorry! Hopefully the rest of the eggs will hatch without issues.

It's great that your broody adopted the 1-week olds though!! It's always SO nerve-wrecking wondering whether she will or she won't take them when giving a broody chicks, happy that went well!

Oh no! How sad! I'm sorry for your loss.
Nevermind.

I'm so depressed.

I took the boys out this morning to check on the chick. They were excited to see if it finished hatching since it hadn't before they went to bed. Midnight stood up and we found not one, but two chicks. Both dead. I think there was bacteria from one of the bad eggs (that I got rid of before they broke) or from a previous dead chick. I think the bacteria killed these two. They had dried off, but from my quick glance it appears at least one had maggots crawling around in a not-sucked-up yolk. Gross and sad. I need to go back out without a baby in one arm and figure things out.

I don't know if I should swap out the nesting tote with a clean one and transfer the last eggs and the hen or if I should just toss everything. What do you think?

We were excited to watch the mamas take care of their chicks. We've learned quite a bit this round and will do things differently next time. (Like separating co-broody hens, dividing the clutch of eggs, candling the eggs half-way through and discarding any bad eggs.)

Oh no! I'm really sorry...

It does sound like bacteria, and I think that if I was in your situation, I would try candling yet again before making a decision. I don't know whether you would be able to tell much at this point, but it's worth a try... I'd watch for movement and if someone is alive, I'd give them a chance - in a cleaned out nest.

If it was earlier than almost hatch time, you probably would have been able to tell bacteria by little spots on the shell, or even blood rings since usually it would stop the embryo development, but at this point I don't know if it would be visible. But oh! Maybe try a sniff test instead? You should definitely be able to tell by the smell if an egg is rotting... like I said, worth a try.

I probably wouldn't risk moving the hen and eggs at this stage, but swap out all the bedding etc. to clean up when she's on a break, and toss any eggs that smell off. I'd also keep the other hen and the chicks from entering, maybe by separating them in another area, preferably out of earshot if you want the one on the eggs to stay on the eggs and not care for the chicks.

That said, it's also likely that they all smell off at this point, or that you simply don't feel up to watching yet another chick hatch and die, which is completely understandable... And in this case, just call it a learning experience, let them raise the hatched chicks together, and wait for someone else to go broody so you can have a happy and worry-free hatch next time.

 

[ItalyChickie]

I don't have much to report, but a couple of things worth sharing:

1. Chiocciola (the broody with Araucana chicks) was desperate to get out of the kindergarten area yesterday, and Pallina was still on a suicide mission, attacking Chiocciola's family when they came near, so I decided mama knows best, and let them out... after keeping an eye on them for a couple of hours, I had decided I'd worry less letting them stay out since they didn't really go far and she did a great job keeping away all the others, even those above her in the pecking order. Of course, I also had to be away for most of the afternoon, and was worried sick anyway by the time I got home... I had nothing to worry about! The tiny little fuzzy butts were following around the 3-week olds and even bonding with some of the 8-week olds! (Although Chiocciola still objected to anyone getting too close.) Pallina also seemed much calmer after not having to share the area with another family, so I think that's going to have to be our new arrangement for the moment. Just so happy that trusting those mamas more is working out for me that I had to share.

2. I have reason to suspect that my "no more hatches this year" memo has gone into that big pile of unread memos, along with the "no chicks in the feeder" one... The reason being, Cenere has spent about 4 hours in the nest box today... That, by itself, isn't even that suspicious, as she likes to make a big production of egg laying, but the fact that there was NO Cenere's egg in there is! There were two other very warm eggs after she got out, Ombretta's and Bonnie's.... and I thiiiiink I may have heard/seen a broody ball impersonation when a roo tried to get near... not 100% sure on that one, I was too far away, but I'll keep an eye on her and keep you posted.... of course, I really shouldn't be even thinking this and just break her if she is indeed broody to avoid ruining vacation plans, yet I keep picturing more chicks in my head...

HELP!!!

 

[HealthyMNmama]

...
That said, it's also likely that they all smell off at this point, or that you simply don't feel up to watching yet another chick hatch and die, which is completely understandable... And in this case, just call it a learning experience, let them raise the hatched chicks together, and wait for someone else to go broody so you can have a happy and worry-free hatch next time.

I just swapped out the fly-trap hanging in the coop, so everything in the coop smells off.
I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I went outside. The hens decided for me. They were both outside with all three live chicks. Since they were out of the coop entirely, it was an easy decision to just take the whole nest. We have them in big rubbermaid totes. I swapped out a clean one and took the old one out. I got rid of all the eggs and bedding and thoroughly washed out the tote. I am sad, but I'm ok with it. I feel better not having to worry about eggs and chicks now. We have 6 other hens that are mature this summer; maybe one of them will go broody yet this season. I'm ok if they don't, too.

 

[ItalyChickie]

I just swapped out the fly-trap hanging in the coop, so everything in the coop smells off.
I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I went outside. The hens decided for me. They were both outside with all three live chicks. Since they were out of the coop entirely, it was an easy decision to just take the whole nest. We have them in big rubbermaid totes. I swapped out a clean one and took the old one out. I got rid of all the eggs and bedding and thoroughly washed out the tote. I am sad, but I'm ok with it. I feel better not having to worry about eggs and chicks now. We have 6 other hens that are mature this summer; maybe one of them will go broody yet this season. I'm ok if they don't, too.

That does sound like they're both ready to teach the chicks rather than waiting for others to hatch - I'm glad they made the decision easier for you, it was a tough one!

Just enjoy the ones you got for the moment, and if another one does go broody and you want advice/moral support/someone to share chick pics with, you know where to find us.

 

[HealthyMNmama]

That does sound like they're both ready to teach the chicks rather than waiting for others to hatch - I'm glad they made the decision easier for you, it was a tough one!

Just enjoy the ones you got for the moment, and if another one does go broody and you want advice/moral support/someone to share chick pics with, you know where to find us.

Thank you. You have all been so helpful. I have enjoyed hearing all your stories and seeing pictures. I don't get on here much, but when I do, I enjoy my time. Thanks!

Now it's back to "normal" life...

 

[16 paws]

@16paws yeah, long time no talk! Been busy with the farm. Sadly we lost 3 chicks this morning. 2 died in my basement in my hands... I was cryin. Cute fussy butts...

and another from both broodies. The chick was in the egg but I think the bigger hen stepped and CrackEd it open. It was fully developed and was ready to hatch. So i separated the two broods. Gave the Seramas 11 chicks and the big hen can hatch out the last of the eggs that start hatching this weekend.

How have you been? Hens doing well?

Hens are good but I just lost three chicks also. Sorry about your little ones. Sounds like a good idea to separate. Sometimes you just dont know how they will do together right? Did you get your coop situation fixed? I remember something was going on there, or was it your Moms place?
Take good care...

Marie

 

[16 paws]

I just swapped out the fly-trap hanging in the coop, so everything in the coop smells off.
I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I went outside. The hens decided for me. They were both outside with all three live chicks. Since they were out of the coop entirely, it was an easy decision to just take the whole nest. We have them in big rubbermaid totes. I swapped out a clean one and took the old one out. I got rid of all the eggs and bedding and thoroughly washed out the tote. I am sad, but I'm ok with it. I feel better not having to worry about eggs and chicks now. We have 6 other hens that are mature this summer; maybe one of them will go broody yet this season. I'm ok if they don't, too.

I think I would of done the same thing and I am glad you feel good about the decision. I am also sure you will get more broodys, it seems to be going around, hehe

Sorry about the eggs that didnt hatch and the ones that didnt make it. I understand how you feel believe me.
Marie

 

[Sonya9]

Thank you. You have all been so helpful. I have enjoyed hearing all your stories and seeing pictures. I don't get on here much, but when I do, I enjoy my time. Thanks!

Now it's back to "normal" life...

I think you made the right decision for everyone concerned.

Next time just save up the eggs you want to hatch out and start them on the same day, then you can share your porgress here!

 

[Sonya9]

Well the chicks will be a week old tomorrow and the broodies STILL aren't taking them outside! I think they are playing it extra safe.

The chicks have gone into the covered run a foot or so, I think they want to go out but the mamas aren't approving of that yet. Just as well, everyone seems very happy and healthy and they are growing so fast! They seem to run around super fast the last day or so. I was a bit worried about the constant scratching in the shavings, I sure don't want to chicks to ingest too many tiny particles of wood, but everyone seems fine.