Hatching with 2 broodies

[HealthyMNmama]

I love everyone's chick pictures! They're all so cute! There's something about a mama and her chicks... adorable! I love each picture. Even the naked neck chick is cute and I'm not fond of them. (For that reason, just to bug me, my boys really want some naked necks. lol)

Thanks for the advice everyone! No, this wasn't a planned hatch. At the time of laying, we had 9 hens and 2 roos. One hen picked an unfortunate spot and a coon got her and her eggs. The other hen was in the box favorited by the whole coop. I believe all the eggs in that box were laid within about a weeks time. After about 1 week the co-broody joined her and all others stopped coming into that box. The black hen is a Black Giant. The white one is, I believe, a White Rock. The white one seems to be mothering the chicks more and the black one only gets off the eggs once a day. That first picture was the first time I'd seen them both off at the same time so I quick snapped a picture because I hadn't been able to accurately count the eggs yet! Today I moved another nesting box to the area and tried moving the white hen and the three chicks to it, but it was only dusk, not dark; they all jumped up and ran the 2 feet back to their normal box. i will try again before I go to bed. (As soon as I moved the white one off, the black one rearranged to cover all eggs.) I'll try again in a bit. The first chick hatched last Tuesday morning, so I'm assuming that they will all be due to hatch by mid-week. We were pretty distracted by racoons at the start of this and didn't keep great records. (They killed about 20 of our meat chickens! We re-did that tractor 4 times at least. We've also killed 11 coons now and know of 1-2 more coming by still.) We did lose another egg today. This chick was partially formed, but not fully. Stinky!

 

[ItalyChickie]

Oh how cute what breed of chicks are they

Thank you!

They are millefleur booted bantams - similar to D'Uccles but without the beard. I posted a pic of one of the biological moms a couple of pages back, in this post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/828899/hatching-with-2-broodies/2530#post_13831825

I love everyone's chick pictures! They're all so cute! There's something about a mama and her chicks... adorable! I love each picture. Even the naked neck chick is cute and I'm not fond of them. (For that reason, just to bug me, my boys really want some naked necks. lol)

Thanks for the advice everyone! No, this wasn't a planned hatch. At the time of laying, we had 9 hens and 2 roos. One hen picked an unfortunate spot and a coon got her and her eggs. The other hen was in the box favorited by the whole coop. I believe all the eggs in that box were laid within about a weeks time. After about 1 week the co-broody joined her and all others stopped coming into that box. The black hen is a Black Giant. The white one is, I believe, a White Rock. The white one seems to be mothering the chicks more and the black one only gets off the eggs once a day. That first picture was the first time I'd seen them both off at the same time so I quick snapped a picture because I hadn't been able to accurately count the eggs yet! Today I moved another nesting box to the area and tried moving the white hen and the three chicks to it, but it was only dusk, not dark; they all jumped up and ran the 2 feet back to their normal box. i will try again before I go to bed. (As soon as I moved the white one off, the black one rearranged to cover all eggs.) I'll try again in a bit. The first chick hatched last Tuesday morning, so I'm assuming that they will all be due to hatch by mid-week. We were pretty distracted by racoons at the start of this and didn't keep great records. (They killed about 20 of our meat chickens! We re-did that tractor 4 times at least. We've also killed 11 coons now and know of 1-2 more coming by still.) We did lose another egg today. This chick was partially formed, but not fully. Stinky!

Thanks, I agree, there's nothing sweeter than mama hen and her chicks! And yeah, I'm also not at all fond of naked necks, but I'm sure I'll grow attached to that chick just the same.

Your plan to separate sounds good if you have one of the hens still dedicated to the eggs, and the other taking care of chicks. One week olds jostling the eggs about to hatch could also cause problems, as these would chicks would be much bigger now.... I'd try to put the hen with chicks somewhere where they can't easily get back to the other one with the eggs. Maybe an improvised separation for the area, just for a day or so until they get used to it? Usually, once they wake up a couple of times in a new place, they'll accept it as home.

I'd also try to candle again and remove any eggs that don't seem viable. Though you probably have less eggs now than in that pic, they still might be too many for one hen to cover, and there's no point trying to fit them all if some are clearly not going to hatch. Leave any you're not certain about, but if you can clearly see it's transparent, no veining, no dark mass, I'd say it's safe to remove.

Sorry to hear about all the coon trouble, that sounds terrible, really hope you get it resolved. And, of course, best of luck with those remaining eggs!


Nothing new to report here, all is well, it's raining today, so the chickies are mostly staying under moms. I do have some more pics from yesterday that are too adorable not too share.

They obviously didn't account for bantam chicks when they made these feeders that are supposed to prevent them getting in the feed:


And a close up, because they like to pose

:

 

[Sonya9]

Thank you!

They are millefleur booted bantams - similar to D'Uccles but without the beard. I posted a pic of one of the biological moms a couple of pages back, in this post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/828899/hatching-with-2-broodies/2530#post_13831825


Thanks, I agree, there's nothing sweeter than mama hen and her chicks! And yeah, I'm also not at all fond of naked necks, but I'm sure I'll grow attached to that chick just the same.
And a close up, because they like to pose

:

Adorable! So how to you deal with the little feathered feet? We have had rain for 3 days and even the covered part of the run is muddy, the hens spend pretty much all day out in the run and their feet get covered in mud! Can't imagine what a mess that would be if they had downy little feathers on their feet!

 

[ItalyChickie]

Adorable! So how to you deal with the little feathered feet? We have had rain for 3 days and even the covered part of the run is muddy, the hens spend pretty much all day out in the run and their feet get covered in mud! Can't imagine what a mess that would be if they had downy little feathers on their feet!

I think I lucked out this year actually, it has not rained for long periods of time at all, has been more tropical thunderstorm type weather - wind, thunder, lightning, all sorts of scary stuff for a couple hours, then sunshine again. It was raining this morning, but now it's just windy, and the sun is out again, and everything is fairly dry, so haven't had to deal with these babies' feet yet (they stayed in this morning).

I did have a couple of times with the other hatch where they got big chunks of dried mud stuck to their feet. I basically tricked them to stand in a very shallow dish filled with water by holding treats above it, and that loosened the mud enough to remove it easily.

I also have the part right by the entrance to their apartments covered with sand, which may help, as it doesn't get muddy no matter what, and they do tend to stay closer to home in bad weather.

Generally though, from what I have seen, by the time they are about 1-2 weeks old, they learn to remove it themselves before it gets too bad. The Cochins have been spending pretty much the entire day in the muddiest part - the veggie garden which gets watered daily, and I have yet to see a muddy feather on those feet. They do groom and dust bathe a LOT!

 

[Sonya9]

I think I lucked out this year actually, it has not rained for long periods of time at all, has been more tropical thunderstorm type weather - wind, thunder, lightning, all sorts of scary stuff for a couple hours, then sunshine again. It was raining this morning, but now it's just windy, and the sun is out again, and everything is fairly dry, so haven't had to deal with these babies' feet yet (they stayed in this morning).

Yeah all Spring and Summer we have had the occasional short thunderstorm that changes to bright sunny weather an hour later too, except of course this week!! Rainy and cloudy all week, but at least it is still warm.

The broodies are getting along a bit better which is good, Zilla the older broody kept jumping all over the younger broody which caused mayhem. Meanwhile the other hens tread carefully and generally stay OUT of the coop.

We went from 7 chicks down to 6 though, sometime yesterday afternoon one just "disappeared". Was there an hour or two before, but then gone. I should probably feel terrible but I expected some losses, could NOT figure out what could have happened though, the coop is secure! Then I realized there is a small 3/4 inch gap where the door meets the coop (the gap isn't visible but well if a chick fell through it they would end up in the main yard which is where my dogs play...nough said). I nailed a board into place in case that was the security breach.

Other than that all seem healthy and fine. Video showing both broodies and the chicks...the coop doesn't look so clean now! Lol.

 

[ItalyChickie]

Oh no, I'm so sorry for your loss!

Glad that you are taking it well, I'm trying to learn to expect losses too, though finding it hard.

There's just always something you just can't foresee... And actually, I also have a tiny gap at the door that the bantam babies can get through. It is visible, but I didn't realize they could get through - the standards never could, and it's only a bit bigger than the chick fence holes! I had caught it in action with my last hatch, thankfully, and have been blocking it just for the first few days, until they grow a bit. Hopefully there aren't any other security breaches we don't know about!

Have had a bit of broody drama over here as well. Pallina is suicidal and attacks anyone and everyone that comes near, including the other broody and worse, her chicks! Have had to separate for a while, they seem to start getting used to each other's presence by now... hopefully things will get better, not worse.

Your broody is so pretty! And she seems to be doing a great job being a mama.

 

[Sonya9]

Have had a bit of broody drama over here as well. Pallina is suicidal and attacks anyone and everyone that comes near, including the other broody and worse, her chicks! Have had to separate for a while, they seem to start getting used to each other's presence by now... hopefully things will get better, not worse.

Your broody is so pretty! And she seems to be doing a great job being a mama.

Had the same issue here! Zilla is very protective and has gone after the younger broody, Bella, a few times. This morning when it happened Bella started to screech and peck at her own two chicks! She wasn't full on attacking them but she was screeching and pecking at them and they cried and moved away.

Course the fact is Zilla would happily take ALL of the chicks in a heart beat, she doesn't try to take the other two but if they want to be with her brood she is fine with it. I am a bit surprised the two with Bella stick with her (though they occasionally do go off with the other family, mainly the tiny little pullet who is obviously quite a spitfire).

Oddly enough Zilla's chicks never try to go to Bella.

Fortunately the hens seem to accept my interference. I have started "chick-napping" and holding the babies, for a minute or so. I want them to be very tame, and since the mama's don't mind and it is easy to grab the babies at this stage I am doing it.

 

[Farmer Viola]

Yeah all Spring and Summer we have had the occasional short thunderstorm that changes to bright sunny weather an hour later too, except of course this week!! Rainy and cloudy all week, but at least it is still warm.

The broodies are getting along a bit better which is good, Zilla the older broody kept jumping all over the younger broody which caused mayhem. Meanwhile the other hens tread carefully and generally stay OUT of the coop.

We went from 7 chicks down to 6 though, sometime yesterday afternoon one just "disappeared". Was there an hour or two before, but then gone. I should probably feel terrible but I expected some losses, could NOT figure out what could have happened though, the coop is secure! Then I realized there is a small 3/4 inch gap where the door meets the coop (the gap isn't visible but well if a chick fell through it they would end up in the main yard which is where my dogs play...nough said). I nailed a board into place in case that was the security breach.

Other than that all seem healthy and fine. Video showing both broodies and the chicks...the coop doesn't look so clean now! Lol.

sorry to hear about the disappearing chick, that would almost be worse than knowing.. well I cant decide which is worse.

I Loved the video, what a lovely broody bantam! She is beautiful. Isn't it funny how quickly the flock learns to avoid the broodies? All my broodies are now at the top of the pecking order, even Beetlejuice who was previously very near the bottom!

Oh no, I'm so sorry for your loss!

Glad that you are taking it well, I'm trying to learn to expect losses too, though finding it hard.

There's just always something you just can't foresee... And actually, I also have a tiny gap at the door that the bantam babies can get through. It is visible, but I didn't realize they could get through - the standards never could, and it's only a bit bigger than the chick fence holes! I had caught it in action with my last hatch, thankfully, and have been blocking it just for the first few days, until they grow a bit. Hopefully there aren't any other security breaches we don't know about!

Have had a bit of broody drama over here as well. Pallina is suicidal and attacks anyone and everyone that comes near, including the other broody and worse, her chicks! Have had to separate for a while, they seem to start getting used to each other's presence by now... hopefully things will get better, not worse.

Your broody is so pretty! And she seems to be doing a great job being a mama.

Oh no! Sorry Pallina is attaching her chicks! sending good calm vibes her way, hope she settles down for you soon.

today I noticed Bertha making regular hen sounds rather than broody clucking, AND she squatted down in front of me when I entered - she's never done that before. She is still actively intimidating the cockerels and not letting them mate, though they do mate the other hens and BJ now. She tolerated the rooster we culled before she was broody but hasn't accepted these 2 young guys yet. I also saw her going in and around the nest box today, so maybe she is going to start laying soon? The chicks are 3 weeks old as of yesterday, and partially feathered. I tried to take some photos and I will upload them soon

the chicks are following her around, but she is no longer trying to lead them or show them food. oh, and my husband built a little mini roost for them yesterday. I put them on it after dark, and when I checked on them again they were all off the roost piled in the corner but not crying. hopefully they will catch on soon!

 

[Farmer Viola]

Here are the 3 week old Blue laced red Wyandotte chicks that are sleeping without their mama now:



another pic of feathering. wow that waterer is dirty


the 3 week old Mottled Java chicks are slightly less feathered, I think 1 is a female it is much more feathered than the other 2..
here they are almost integrating with the rest of the flock


here is Wendy with her 3 babies, the tiny one in the center is the youngest

 

[Sonya9]

Also thank you for those links! That "Must Read Hatching Guide" is awesome and is the reason the little assisted hatch boy is alive today. He never would have gotten out of that egg being all backward and stuck and using his little foot to pip (and also screaming his head off which was a wise on his part)

He thanks you for the link! The link explains things so well, assisted hatching doesn't have to mean committing to "peel the shell off the chick" it means helping a little, and if needed a little more depending on how things are going.