Today, my first chick out of 12 eggs hatch under a broody hen. BEAUTIFUL chick, absolutely GORGEOUS. Unfortunately my hen accidently crushed the poor thing to death
When I was first able to see the chick (it was already dry since hatching), I noticed that it had a little bulge of tissue between its legs. I gently scooped it up to get a better look, and it almost seemed as it's intestines were squeezed out a bit. I never hatched chicks before, so I'm not sure what is really to be expected or not; all I knew is that that didn't seem quite normal. The chick seemed "ok" otherwise; it was a bit lethargic, but still peeped and crawled back under momma-hen for warmth at a rather good rate/energy, before going quiet again. I didn't want to agitate the hen or stress the chick out anymore more, so I figured it was best to leave it in its nest.
When the hen got off the nest for a food break, I peeked in on the chick and found it dead; completely flattened like a pancake! As gross as it is for me to say, I literally had to peel the poor thing's body off of the surface (the hen actually kicked the shavings and straw out of the nest, leaving the eggs and chick on the hard surface -?!!!).
Looking back at it, I wouldn't be surprised if she stepped on it before, causing the initial injury too... :-/
As I have mentioned, it's my first time hatching chicks. I have bought chicks, raised chicks, just never experienced hatching them from eggs before. My hen, has gone broody multiple time already, but this is her first clutch of eggs that she was actually allowed to hatch out; making her a first time mom. As excited for this chick raising experience as I was, I was also very worried. Everyone told me not to stress, that a broody hen's instincts would kick in, and she will know exactly what to do to take care of her chicks. After today's tragedy, I'm beginning to seriously doubt my hen's "motherly instincts."
I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm inexperienced in this matter so I'm not sure how to fix things in order to better ensure the other chicks hatch and survive. I assume, my hen decided to nest in an area maybe a bit too small, considering she had 12 eggs - ??? I ended up moving her and her nest into a huge, but shallow, wicker basket in my mud room. She seemed to settle well, but even then, she dragged her eggs to one end of the basket and smooshed her body down rather vigorously on top of them, kind of defeating the purpose of more space...
Also, at this point I'm not sure what would be best for the remaining chicks that are due to hatch. Originally, I was planning on keeping them with momma until they grew a bit stronger and move them to the brooder in groups/pairs so they wouldn't be alone. Now, I'm almost wondering if it would be best to just move them to the brooder immediately after hatching - ???
I honestly feel so bummed out and completely clueless and helpless at the moment. I have no idea what would be best.
If anyone can lend me some advice/suggestions it would be VERY much appreciated.
Here's to hoping this experience gets better and the others have a good hatching and survive
Thank you in advance
When I was first able to see the chick (it was already dry since hatching), I noticed that it had a little bulge of tissue between its legs. I gently scooped it up to get a better look, and it almost seemed as it's intestines were squeezed out a bit. I never hatched chicks before, so I'm not sure what is really to be expected or not; all I knew is that that didn't seem quite normal. The chick seemed "ok" otherwise; it was a bit lethargic, but still peeped and crawled back under momma-hen for warmth at a rather good rate/energy, before going quiet again. I didn't want to agitate the hen or stress the chick out anymore more, so I figured it was best to leave it in its nest.
When the hen got off the nest for a food break, I peeked in on the chick and found it dead; completely flattened like a pancake! As gross as it is for me to say, I literally had to peel the poor thing's body off of the surface (the hen actually kicked the shavings and straw out of the nest, leaving the eggs and chick on the hard surface -?!!!).
Looking back at it, I wouldn't be surprised if she stepped on it before, causing the initial injury too... :-/
As I have mentioned, it's my first time hatching chicks. I have bought chicks, raised chicks, just never experienced hatching them from eggs before. My hen, has gone broody multiple time already, but this is her first clutch of eggs that she was actually allowed to hatch out; making her a first time mom. As excited for this chick raising experience as I was, I was also very worried. Everyone told me not to stress, that a broody hen's instincts would kick in, and she will know exactly what to do to take care of her chicks. After today's tragedy, I'm beginning to seriously doubt my hen's "motherly instincts."
I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm inexperienced in this matter so I'm not sure how to fix things in order to better ensure the other chicks hatch and survive. I assume, my hen decided to nest in an area maybe a bit too small, considering she had 12 eggs - ??? I ended up moving her and her nest into a huge, but shallow, wicker basket in my mud room. She seemed to settle well, but even then, she dragged her eggs to one end of the basket and smooshed her body down rather vigorously on top of them, kind of defeating the purpose of more space...
Also, at this point I'm not sure what would be best for the remaining chicks that are due to hatch. Originally, I was planning on keeping them with momma until they grew a bit stronger and move them to the brooder in groups/pairs so they wouldn't be alone. Now, I'm almost wondering if it would be best to just move them to the brooder immediately after hatching - ???
I honestly feel so bummed out and completely clueless and helpless at the moment. I have no idea what would be best.
If anyone can lend me some advice/suggestions it would be VERY much appreciated.
Here's to hoping this experience gets better and the others have a good hatching and survive
Thank you in advance
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