CherriZooka

Hatching
Jul 13, 2021
1
1
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Good morning all.
I'm sorry for my novel but please bear with me, I need some help.
I have two hen mothers at the moment. One already has about 2 four week old chicks. We had 6 but about 4 days after they were born, a snake took 4. Now I have a hen brooding in the laying box. One of her chicks hatched yesterday but I had to lift her up to find out today. The chick still hadn't left her so I put it back under. She pulls her other eggs back under her and disregards the hatched chick. When I lifted her I smelled rotten eggs. I have numerous questions.
1. Should I be concerned? Or leave her completely alone?
2. Should I pull the other chick out and give her to the other mama with more grown babies?
3. Will the other mama take the chickie? Or will she reject it
4. Should I pull the broody hen out? If so then what do I do with the eggs?
5. Should I, myself, care for the chick? I have raised the moms and other hens by myself.
Please help me, I want no more chick deaths. Thank yall so much and have a great day~
 
Good morning all.
I'm sorry for my novel but please bear with me, I need some help.
I have two hen mothers at the moment. One already has about 2 four week old chicks. We had 6 but about 4 days after they were born, a snake took 4. Now I have a hen brooding in the laying box. One of her chicks hatched yesterday but I had to lift her up to find out today. The chick still hadn't left her so I put it back under. She pulls her other eggs back under her and disregards the hatched chick. When I lifted her I smelled rotten eggs. I have numerous questions.
1. Should I be concerned? Or leave her completely alone?
2. Should I pull the other chick out and give her to the other mama with more grown babies?
3. Will the other mama take the chickie? Or will she reject it
4. Should I pull the broody hen out? If so then what do I do with the eggs?
5. Should I, myself, care for the chick? I have raised the moms and other hens by myself.
Please help me, I want no more chick deaths. Thank yall so much and have a great day~
Take the eggs away from mama, and put food and water very close so that if she doesn't want to get up the baby can still access it.

Without eggs mama should get up in a day or 2.

You can use the flashlight on your phone to candle the eggs if you want to, but they all sound dead to me.
 
Do not try to give a newly hatched chick to a hen with four week old chicks. That almost certainly won't work. The hen is probably ignoring the chick because it doesn't need her attention right now and she is waiting for more to hatch. The new hatchling can go for two or three days without food and water while it survives on the yolk that it has just finished absorbing so it just needs to stay under momma and keep warm. When it needs food and water she will abandon any unhatched eggs to lead it to the food dish.

How many eggs are still under the broody? One rotten egg would account for the smell so she may be waiting for the rest to hatch. Candling the eggs is a good idea to determine which ones may still hatch but be careful handling the eggs. Rotten eggs can explode and contaminate the nest box (and you :sick).
 

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