Hens are brooding and it's spreading help!

[StephanRanch]

The first baby!!

 

[krista74]

Woo Hoo!

CONGRATULATIONS!

- Krista

 

[StephanRanch]

What do I do if mom won't get off the eggs and the baby chick is thirsty????

 

[krista74]

The chick will be ok for 24 hours as it has absorbed the yolk and that will sustain it for a certain period of time.

After 24 hours have passed you need to candle the remaining eggs and make sure they are still viable. Normally all of the eggs will hatch within a 24 hour period, so if there are some not hatched it's possible they never will. There are exceptions to the rule though, so candle carefully and thoroughly!

Momma will sit until all of the eggs have either hatched or been taken away. If the eggs, upon candling, are NOT viable you need to remove them from the nest. Momma will then get up and look after her chick. Some hens will eventually leave the nest despite there being unhatched eggs remaining - again, if that happens, candle and remove the bad eggs as required.

Certainly after 48-36 post the first hatching I would suspect the remaining eggs were duds.

I do hope you do have more chicks hatch, but Momma will look after one chick if he is the sole survivor, just as well as should would look after ten of them.

Good luck!

- Krista

 

[StephanRanch]

A second just hatched yesterday, a little black Japanese/d'uccle. I didn't get pictures yet because he was still wet and it is very cold

 

[lazy gardener]

Good job! The chicks have 72 hours of reserve from the absorbed yolk.

 

[katjames11]

I have a question for you if that's alright? I have a light Sussex and she was sitting 5 eggs but over the 21 days she would get off to eat and have a stretch & forget to go back to her eggs for 20-30 mins at a time so the eggs didn't hatch & when I saw my chance I threw the bad eggs out,she is back in there & I cant budge her,she gets very aggressive when I do, all my 7 other hens lay in the same box even though I have 3 others for them & the eggs cant be collected due to her not moving off the nest now. In all total she has been in that nest a total of 5/6 weeks. I cant lock her out as there isn't a door to the coup,I even got the hose out because she hated getting wet but nothing has worked so far,I appreciate any advice..

 

[krista74]

A second just hatched yesterday, a little black Japanese/d'uccle. I didn't get pictures yet because he was still wet and it is very cold

Excellent, congrats! I'm glad your first one will have at least one little friend!


- Krista

 

[krista74]

Good job! The chicks have 72 hours of reserve from the absorbed yolk.

Thank for the correction, I knew they would be right for at least a day - I didn't realise they had 72 hours worth of yolk nutrition though. Good to know!

- Krista

 

[krista74]

I have a question for you if that's alright? I have a light Sussex and she was sitting 5 eggs but over the 21 days she would get off to eat and have a stretch & forget to go back to her eggs for 20-30 mins at a time so the eggs didn't hatch & when I saw my chance I threw the bad eggs out,she is back in there & I cant budge her,she gets very aggressive when I do, all my 7 other hens lay in the same box even though I have 3 others for them & the eggs cant be collected due to her not moving off the nest now. In all total she has been in that nest a total of 5/6 weeks. I cant lock her out as there isn't a door to the coup,I even got the hose out because she hated getting wet but nothing has worked so far,I appreciate any advice..

Hi there

A couple of thoughts come to mind:-

1. You could either give her some day old chicks to raise. Sneak them in under her at night and all being well she will accept them as her own. OR,

2. You could break her in a broody buster cage like this one:-



The reason I would suggest possibly breaking her is because 5 or 6 weeks have already passed, it doesn't look like she has any intention of giving up, and it might be necessary to break her for her own good. She needs proper nutrition, exercise and socialisation, and she's been without those things for long enough now. My thoughts are that she either needs to start raising chicks or be broken, but to leave her in a constant state of broodiness is not going to be good for her health in the long term.

In case you go with Option 2 - The broody buster cage should have a fine wire base, but no bedding at all. It should be raised off the ground a few inches to allow free circulation of air underneath the hen. There should be a roof over it (a sheet of tin, or an old bed sheet will do) to protect her from the sun. If it's wet or windy or excessively cold, you might like to set her cage up in a shed or garage to protect her from the elements. There should always be food and water available to her.

Starting off for a period of 48 hours, you can then let her out to test her. If she runs back to the nest, pick her up and put her back in the cage. If she re-joins the flock she is not broody any more. It may take several days to break her though - she has been broody for a long time.

Good luck!

- Krista