Hatching with 2 broodies

[randerson846]

Thanks

 

[16 paws]

Ok,
Not starting off very good......
I went to check on Penny and I found a dead chick by her.
Dont know what happened except it looked fully formed, was very wet, black feathers and not moving. It was by her head. I dont think she would of attacked it because she didnt do that to the day old chicks she raised before, so sad.....

She wont let me check on the other eggs and I am afraid to disturb her.
Any thoughts?
Marie

 

[Teila]

Good morning Team Broody

Day 1 of my 10 days away from the office. It is slowly starting to sink in and I am very excited at being able to spend some time with my girls and in the garden.
Imminent photo bomb warning!

Wow, one day away and I have 3 pages of posts to catch up on! Good stuff!
I have a Word document open and switching between it and the thread, so if I stop making sense or get out of order, forgive me. I am kind of replying to each thread so you will see bits tacked on after more news further into the thread and possible repeats of what someone else has also said .. hhhhm, even I think I have stopped making sense now! lolz

Thank you all for supporting me either way with Tommy; it is very much appreciated. I still have the advert running and being the Easter Weekend, I may get some bites. I have decided that I am going to leave the decision up to fate. If the right person responds I will let him move on to new adventures; if no-one wants him then it means I was meant to keep him

TG, ooooh, how exciting, not long now!
Good to read that you got Norma settled without any more of those ‘what were you thinking’ moments.
Re: Jamie Lee, Team Broody sure has our fair share of broodies! I think our challenge should be to actually find a time when none of us have a broody.
I do not have one at the moment as such. Cilla is still playing mumma and as suspected, has gone past the cut-off date she had with the Silkies. With the Silkies she cut the cord about 5-6 weeks, Blondie and Tommy are now 8.5 weeks and still very much attached to mumma

I wonder if she has stuck it out longer this time because she only has two and not five. It may be because they are roosting with her as opposed to the Silkies who did/do not roost or it could just be that they are Pekins, the same as her.
It is strange, out of Dusty and Tina, Tina is the one Cilla picks on most and Tina is her baby from her first hatch. Poor Tina, being at the bottom of the chicken ladder certainly sucks. At least Dusty has sort of made friends with her but I think that will change when Cilla stops playing mumma and Dusty will return to hanging out with Cilla. (More on that later)

Lesa Mae, you reckon I’m a Debbie Downer, TG’s 5/5 and 3/3 makes me the optimist! Lolz

Wooo hooo, congratulations on the safe arrival of Sara2.
Read some more .. congratulations on the safe arrival of Sara 3 also! Lolz
I totally agree with 16 paws, I have also read that the chicks are fine for the first 24-48 hours or so, surviving on the nutrients from the egg. If it was me, I would try offering them some water and chick start but definitely not leave the water unless you have taken precautions to limit the drowning risk.
I also believe that mumma may know that she has to look after the bubbies and will abandon any unhatched eggs.
Great advice from TG regarding the pipped eggs. I am filing that one away for future reference
Brrrr at -4 degrees


R846, welcome to the Team, lovely to meet you

Sounds like you have a fun mix on the go and I have my fingers crossed for you for a successful hatch.
As always, looking forward to the bubby pictures!
Oooh, how exciting that Team Broody may now be branching out to baby ducks also .. I foresee some very cute pictures in future posts.

16 paws, Marie what a beautiful post

I would be lost without Team Broody! I truly believe this thread is the best because we all support each other and while being honest are never judgmental. We are a true team and in this together, everyone is an important member.
Thank your for the web site, those broody boxes are awesome

IC, good to hear the bubbies are doing well and on track.

Phew, OK, I think I am all caught up now

I have a little bit of news, I have decided that Tina’s new friend is going to be a Frizzle instead of a Silkie. I already have a name picked, Lulu. As I mentioned previously, my break from work is the ideal time to start looking and as luck has it, there is a poultry sale on Sunday at a market about an hour down the road which is advertising Pekin Frizzles amongst many other breeds. So rather than me driving all over the countryside there will be lots of chickens for me to look at in one place. I have never been to a poultry sale so I am very excited about it; I am fairly confident that I will be coming home with a new girl.

Still no eggs for weeks now! Dusty is still getting around looking like an old, plucked chicken, Cilla is engrossed with parenthood and of course, Blondie is only 8 weeks old. All my egg hopes are resting on Tina’s first egg; she is 6 months and 3 weeks old tomorrow so hopefully soon.

The sun is shining and it is way past time for me to get outside and start enjoying what is going to be a wonderful day!

Happy Easter to you all. Now I do not have to go to work for a while I will hopefully not have to write a Novella next time I check in

 

[randerson846]

That happened to me last year my hen pecked open a piped chick, cause i think it was struggling, and it was al right it got it out and i think it was doing ok the it just pecked it a couple of times (really hard) and killed it, don't know why, i looked up and apparently the hens know if there is something wrong with a chick and they kill it when it is born
But then after i looked under, and there was a chick sitting underneath all fluffy cuddled up so i don't know ahah

 

[randerson846]

And thanks teila i will show pictures when the yhatch looking forward to it

 

[Teila]

Ok,
Not starting off very good......
I went to check on Penny and I found a dead chick by her.
Dont know what happened except it looked fully formed, was very wet, black feathers and not moving. It was by her head. I dont think she would of attacked it because she didnt do that to the day old chicks she raised before, so sad.....

She wont let me check on the other eggs and I am afraid to disturb her.
Any thoughts?
Marie

Delaying that trip outside to enjoy the sunshine as I see you posted this as I was writing my novel.
I am so sorry to read that you and Penny lost a bubby

Thoughts? Hhhhhm, I'm not sure. I wonder if the poor little munchkin wore itself out breaking out of it's shell. I agree with you and do not think it likely that Penny attacked it, unless she knew there was something not quite right with it. What is the weather like at the moment? Could it have gotten too cold? Having said that, if it was still wet, it sounds like it was only recently hatched. Sadly, as you know, there have been a few chick losses of late, Cilla lost two of this latest hatch within hours for no apparent reason and IC has also had some sadness. I wish I had an answer for you but there are many things over which we have no control.

Fingers crossed that the rest of your hatch goes well. Sending positive thoughts your way and I will check back later for the good news!

 

[16 paws]

Delaying that trip outside to enjoy the sunshine as I see you posted this as I was writing my novel.
I am so sorry to read that you and Penny lost a bubby

Thoughts? Hhhhhm, I'm not sure. I wonder if the poor little munchkin wore itself out breaking out of it's shell. I agree with you and do not think it likely that Penny attacked it, unless she knew there was something not quite right with it. What is the weather like at the moment? Could it have gotten too cold? Having said that, if it was still wet, it sounds like it was only recently hatched. Sadly, as you know, there have been a few chick losses of late, Cilla lost two of this latest hatch within hours for no apparent reason and IC has also had some sadness. I wish I had an answer for you but there are many things over which we have no control.

Fingers crossed that the rest of your hatch goes well. Sending positive thoughts your way and I will check back later for the good news!

Thanks Teila,

I appreciate your thoughts.
I was just wondering, how long after they hatch do they get all dried off? I think this one hatched last night because I saw some shell under her last night but thought she may have just broken another egg that wasnt fertile.
The weather is mild, high 60's, so I dont think it was that.
I wonder how it got by her head? None of the others could get to her, so thats not the issue.
So many questions!!!
Marie

 

[Lesa Mae]

Delaying that trip outside to enjoy the sunshine as I see you posted this as I was writing my novel.
I am so sorry to read that you and Penny lost a bubby 

Thoughts? Hhhhhm, I'm not sure.  I wonder if the poor little munchkin wore itself out breaking out of it's shell.  I agree with you and do not think it likely that Penny attacked it, unless she knew there was something not quite right with it.  What is the weather like at the moment?  Could it have gotten too cold?  Having said that, if it was still wet, it sounds like it was only recently hatched.  Sadly, as you know, there have been a few chick losses of late, Cilla lost two of this latest hatch within hours for no apparent reason and IC has also had some sadness.  I wish I had an answer for you but there are many things over which we have no control.
 Fingers crossed that the rest of your hatch goes well.  Sending positive thoughts your way and I will check back later for the good news! 

Oh my heart is breaking for you 16 paws !!!! Went out to check in on the girls and poor "Sara 4" did not make it found the baby just like yours so sad to think it worked so hard to enter this world to only not make it hoping the remaining eggs hatch safely, will keep you posted thinking of you and the remainder of your hatch good news to come I hope

 

[Teila]

Aaaw Lisa Mae, I am sorry to read your sad news also

I really do hope that the rest of your hatch goes well.

I also have sad news, but in a way it is also good news! Tommy has gone to his new home. I had a huge sook

when he left but I am feeling much better about it now. Both he and I struck it lucky with his new mum and dad. I mean no disrespect when I describe them as an 'older couple' who I liked straight away. They have 5 acres about an hour from here. They have turkeys and chickens. The story is that a bantam rooster wandered into their place about 8 years ago and made himself at home. Sadly he recently passed away. The lady explained that she just happened to be cruising through the adverts for no particular reason when she spotted Tommy and gave me a call. An hour later they were at the front door and instantly fell in love with him. The chickens that they have are LF layers and their other bantam rooster used to quite happily hang around with them, trying his luck She works but hubby is home all day and they were talking about how Tommy would be able to follow hubby around the property etc and were also talking of getting Tommy some little girls of his own. When she was holding him he seemed quite happy and I could tell she was already smitten. She gave him a little kiss on the head and was talking away to him. She has promised to send me photos and let me know how he is doing.

Still a little sad but happy too

 

[ItalyChickie]

Tommysgirl,

Thanks for the kind words, I am humbled....

You and I are on deck now for the next hatch arent we? I hope everything goes smooth for you.

Penny is still brooding away but down to 9 eggs from 13 to start. Dont really know how or why they got broken but maybe because she is so big. Has anyone out there had experience with a Jersey Giant broodie? We have had a lot of eggs crack on her former broodiness also. We have never had a hatch here due to no roos so I hope something good happens. I am concerned about the broken eggs effecting the others. Oh well, we shall see!

ItalyChickie,
Congratulations on your new fuzzies!

I am really loving the pictures. The one of the little chick looking up at mom is so adorable! Just in time for Easter! Enjoy watching your babies grow up.

Try not to be too upset about the guys that didnt make it. I was reading about this old timers methods of dealing with broodies and he said it was his experience that the ones that dont make it were never susposed to. He said that in the beginning of his chicken keeping he would try to help if a hatchingling needed it but he also went on to observe that they had problems in the future.Now he just lets everything happen naturally. Maybe there was something wrong from the start? I know it still hurts, because EVERY life is important, but we dont always see the whole picture. Just thought I would share this with you to try and make you feel a little better. It made sense to me....

Teila, I understand your concerns and frustrations with the roo thing.It is a decision we all seem to have to make if we keep chickens. You will know the right thing to do.
I am excited to see what you build on your time off!

Speaking of building things....
You know how we were talking about the portable nest boxes? In case we had to move a broody?
Well, my son and I built 2 for our girls in case we need to separate another broody.
There is a website called Anna White. She has some wonderful plans for different items to build and sure enough there is a real easy nest box to build. I made one with her dimensions first, gave that one to the banties to use and then made another bigger one for my full size girls. They are really fun to make and come out super cute. I put curtains up because they seem to like the extra privacy.
Here are a couple pix. Let me know if you have any questions.

Blessings to all of our broody bunch!
Marie

Ok,
Not starting off very good......
I went to check on Penny and I found a dead chick by her.
Dont know what happened except it looked fully formed, was very wet, black feathers and not moving. It was by her head. I dont think she would of attacked it because she didnt do that to the day old chicks she raised before, so sad.....

She wont let me check on the other eggs and I am afraid to disturb her.
Any thoughts?
Marie

Marie, I am so so so sorry to hear about the chick!

I know it's super sad, no matter how you try to explain it... but I quoted your previous post as well, because I think what you said before, about those who don't make without help having problems in the future is very very true... Case in point - I actually found that baby with the broody twins when he was still breathing and gave it to Cenere, thinking I had fixed things, and he had seemed to get better, yet still didn't make it...

I don't think Penny would have attacked it.. it's more likely that if he was suffering he struggled out, or that she felt no life there and wanted to make room for the other arrivals. Also, I think I read somewhere it can take as long as 12 hours to dry off completely. (if I remember correctly, hope someone can confirm)

And I also have a really hard time accepting this, but what you had said is very true, and since you also mention that some eggs broke, then it's very possible there was a problem at the source there, and this chick's egg got dirty didn't develop correctly. I just hope the others are okay, and look forward to meeting them when they are ready.

Also, those nest boxes are super cute, thank you for sharing! I need some new ones too, since I'm overtaken with broodies! (Yes, Bonnie is still broody, and the twins seem to be looking for a new spot... still walking around making that buc buc buc noise.)

Oh my heart is breaking for you 16 paws !!!! Went out to check in on the girls and poor "Sara 4" did not make it found the baby just like yours so sad to think it worked so hard to enter this world to only not make it

hoping the remaining eggs hatch safely, will keep you posted thinking of you and the remainder of your hatch good news to come I hope

I am so sorry to hear about Sara 4! Big hug to you and mom and other Saras, hope everyone else is okay!

16 paws, Marie what a beautiful post

I would be lost without Team Broody! I truly believe this thread is the best because we all support each other and while being honest are never judgmental. We are a true team and in this together, everyone is an important member.

Teila and Marie, yes, exactly! This is why I simply had to join in, as opposed to just lurking as I normally do! Love this thread, and thanks so much to everyone for making me feel at home right away!

Aaaw Lisa Mae, I am sorry to read your sad new also

I really do hope that the rest of your hatch goes well.

I also have sad news, but in a way it is also good news! Tommy has gone to his new home. I had a huge sook

when he left but I am feeling much better about it now. Both he and I struck it lucky with his new mum and dad. I mean no disrespect when I describe them as an 'older couple' who I liked straight away. They have 5 acres about an hour from here. They have turkeys and chickens. The story is that a bantam rooster wandered into their place about 8 years ago and made himself at home. Sadly he recently passed away. The lady explained that she just happened to be cruising through the adverts for no particular reason when she spotted Tommy and gave me a call. An hour later they were at the front door and instantly fell in love with him. The chickens that they have are LF layers and their other bantam rooster used to quite happily hang around with them, trying his luck She works but hubby is home all day and they were talking about how Tommy would be able to follow hubby around the property etc and were also talking of getting Tommy some little girls of his own. When she was holding him he seemed quite happy and I could tell she was already smitten. She gave him a little kiss on the head and was talking away to him. She has promised to send me photos and let me know how he is doing.

Still a little sad but happy too

Oh Teila! I am torn... it's sad giving him up, but it sounds like he found himself a perfect home and this is for the best.

And you can focus on the girls now, and finding a friend for Tina - can't wait to meet her!


Quote:

Lol TG! I know exactly what you mean - my broody twins have a leghorn mom, and normally have that lean and tall tailed look, but they completely transformed into round puffed balls when broody. Can't wait to see your new arrivals!


Well, I better get some work done before the Easter weekend. Hopefully will have lots more picture to share soon! I did take some yesterday and this morning but they are all blurry because the babies refuse to stay still even for a second - they're zipping all over the place from mom to mom, and it's so much fun watching them!