HELP - First baby chick hatched - what do I do?

[rod5591]

So our first chick hatched under our broody hen--it has no water, or food (the nest is 3 feet up a ladder in a henhouse that many hens lay in. Because there is no water, I removed the chick from mama and tried to get it to drink water from an eyedropper. It drank, but it would not eat any chicken starter food. I then put the chick back with mama--will she feed and hydrate the chick if I leave them together? I will close the house so the other chicks can not access it to lay in anymore. Or should I remove the little guy to a brooder? This little guy is so small that it has truble holding up his head--although as the attack movie shows, it is peeping up a storm. Any suggestions or help will be appreciated.

 

[nuthatched]

New chicks don't need to eat for 2-3 days since they still have the yolk inside them. Many chicken owners separate their broody hens and give them a floor level nest so the chicks can get to the food and water easily. Don't try to force water into with a dropper, gently dip it's beak into the water but since it has its momma, it will learn from her.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

In addition to what @nuthatched said, make sure this chick (and the ones to follow) cannot get out of the nestbox and away from the broody's hen's warmth where they cannot get back in.

In addition to not needing to eat for 2-3 days due to continuing to feed off their remaining internalized egg yolk, chicks need 24 hours or so to rest and recover after hatching. Escaping that egg is hard work! And btw that tiny white extension at top of chicks beak in your photo is the chick's egg tooth. A chick uses its egg tooth to unzip the egg, not its beak as many might think. The egg tooth often falls off by the time a chick arrives at the feedstore. So usually only those with broody-hatched chicks get to see an egg tooth in person!

Chicks will begin to explore the nestbox after 24 hours or so. They will also begin to peck at the shavings and appear to be starving. They are curious but Not starving. Their egg yolk is still providing nutrition. So keep chick(s) contained & safe while mama hen finishes the hatching process. After 2-3 days have passed since Oldest chick has hatched, if there any remaining alive but unhatched chicks, then seek further advice. Otherwise, dont worry and congratulations to you and the new mom!

 

[rod5591]

I blocked off the entrance to the coop so the other hens can no longer lay there. I placed food and water in the nest box area ( see photo) . The broody hen gathered the eggs of the other hens over a couple of weeks, so hatching might be spread over that length of time. Will the hen sit that long when eggs are hatching over 2 weeks? There are 11 eggs left to hatch. Probably only 50% are fertile.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I blocked off the entrance to the coop so the other hens can no longer lay there. I placed food and water in the nest box area ( see photo) . The broody hen gathered the eggs of the other hens over a couple of weeks, so hatching might be spread over that length of time. Will the hen sit that long when eggs are hatching over 2 weeks? There are 11 eggs left to hatch. Probably only 50% are fertile.

She probably won't hatch the entire group - staggered hatches are problematic for that reason. At some point the active chicks under her will trigger her to take the babies out to eat and drink. Do you have a plan on what to do with the remaining eggs (got an incubator?) assuming they're fertile and developing?

 

[rod5591]

She probably won't hatch the entire group - staggered hatches are problematic for that reason. At some point the active chicks under her will trigger her to take the babies out to eat and drink. Do you have a plan on what to do with the remaining eggs (got an incubator?) assuming they're fertile and developing?

No, I don't have an incubator. What would the ethical course of action for me if the hen abandoned some of the eggs??

I have heat lamps that I used previously when I bought week-old chicks from the local farm store. If the hen stops sitting on the eggs, would placing the remaining eggs a heat lamp and turning them every few hours work?

 

[Sierra G]

If you want her to hatch most of the eggs brood the early hatchers and give them back to her when everything viable has hatched. Don't take any of them from her until there are at least two strong chicks. A chick alone or one with a sib that ignores it will chirp non-stop. Super annoying unless you can shut it in, random example, an upstairs bathroom you aren't using. But you might still feel guilty leaving him alone.

My brooding shed has a deep layer of prairie hay accessible by a wide shallow ramp that's just a single sheet of plywood. I just let whatever is setting keep whatever hatches for the first week or so. Bad mothers lose their mommy privileges. Chicks stay with the hens because they're usually careful. Anything else gets brooded in an outdoor brooder and housed on the back porch (which is fully enclosed and secure) every night. At two months they're integrated into the flock which is all housed together unless I'm trying to arrange a specific mating or hatch purebreds.

 

[rod5591]

In addition to what @nuthatched said, make sure this chick (and the ones to follow) cannot get out of the nestbox and away from the broody's hen's warmth where they cannot get back in.

In addition to not needing to eat for 2-3 days due to continuing to feed off their remaining internalized egg yolk, chicks need 24 hours or so to rest and recover after hatching. Escaping that egg is hard work! And btw that tiny white extension at top of chicks beak in your photo is the chick's egg tooth. A chick uses its egg tooth to unzip the egg, not its beak as many might think. The egg tooth often falls off by the time a chick arrives at the feedstore. So usually only those with broody-hatched chicks get to see an egg tooth in person!

Chicks will begin to explore the nestbox after 24 hours or so. They will also begin to peck at the shavings and appear to be starving. They are curious but Not starving. Their egg yolk is still providing nutrition. So keep chick(s) contained & safe while mama hen finishes the hatching process. After 2-3 days have passed since Oldest chick has hatched, if there any remaining alive but unhatched chicks, then seek further advice. Otherwise, don't worry and congratulations to you and the new mom!

Thank you! I actually feel quite humbled to be part of this process, and I want to do the best thing to ensure the survival of the chicks.

 

[rod5591]

If you want her to hatch most of the eggs brood the early hatchers and give them back to her when everything viable has hatched.

This is a great idea! If I took two chicks from her and returned them a week or 10 days later, she would accept them with no problem?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

This is a great idea! If I took two chicks from her and returned them a week or 10 days later, she would accept them with no problem?

It depends on the broody, but most wont accept chicks they do not recognize as their own. And after a week or 10 days, she wont see them as "hers". (Some broodys will adopt anyway.)

If u make food accessible to your broody in her nestbox, she will likely poop in the nestbox/on her eggs. If u have seen her broody poop, you know u dont want that. She will need to come off eggs to eat, drink & poop, but put food and water far enough away so she does not contaminate the nest box.

Chicks dont need to eat for 2-3 days.. So in your situation, best course of action may be to keep placing chicks in a temporary brooder, as long as remaining eggs are close to hatching. (2 weeks is too long; one week likely is too.). Always leave at least one chick with mom, so she doesnt become agitated and give up.

As far as "ethical course of action re abandoning remaining eggs. " If u leave all the chicks with mom, she will abandon the eggs after 2-4 days anyway, because the early chicks will become hungry, thirsty and demanding. Placing early hatchees in the temporary brooder should allow you to get a few extra chicks. That is the best you can do, unless you want to artificially incubate and raise the late chicks yourself.