HELP hatchlings dying

[VBmom]

i live in California and have a silkie that has been brooding 9 eggs for the first time.

The first baby hatched fine but died soon after. The second died before hatching all the way. I have a brooding lamp by her but idk if it's enough to heat bc I couldn't move her to an actual brooding spot.

I'm wondering if the weather is too cold for them. I'm toying w the idea of taking the eggs away and making a home made incubator for the rest. One just cracked its egg. I see the beak but no movement.

Help, My silkie and I are new chicken moms. I don't want anymore dead babies

 

[bobbi-j]

First of all, they don't need the lamp. Mama is there to keep them warm. She has the perfect temperature and humidity for them to hatch in. I don't mess with my broodies until a day or so after the chicks have hatched. I don't know why the babies are dying, but if there is something wrong with them, they are just as likely to die if you take them from her as they are if you leave them.

 

[VBmom]

This is so stressful lol I want to help so bad. She is still in the coop with the others and thought maybe it was too cold.

I worried that after The first chick that hatched that maybe momma is favoring the eggs over the chicks and maybe that's why she died

 

[junebuggena]

This is so stressful lol I want to help so bad. She is still in the coop with the others and thought maybe it was too cold.

I worried that after The first chick that hatched that maybe momma is favoring the eggs over the chicks and maybe that's why she died

Is it possible that the other birds in the flock are pulling the chicks out from under mom and killing them? Broodies, especially first timers, should at least have some sort of space sectioned off to protect the newly hatching chicks.

 

[VBmom]

Sure hope that's not the case since I can't move her. I've blocked her off a bit but have left enough room for her to get in/out

 

[bobbi-j]

Sure hope that's not the case since I can't move her. I've blocked her off a bit but have left enough room for her to get in/out

I would think that if the others were killing them, you'd see some sign of injury. Seriously - they don't need the heat lamp. Overheating can kill chicks.

 

[VBmom]

Ok. I'll remove then. Thank you for guidance. Much appreciated

 

[bobbi-j]

Ok. I'll remove then. Thank you for guidance. Much appreciated

I hope the rest of the hatch goes well.

 

[junebuggena]

The heat lamp actually be the reason for the dead chicks away from mom. They instinctively try to get as near a heat source as possible. If the chick felt more heat from the lamp than the hen, it would try to gravitate towards the heat lamp rather than snuggling up under mom.