Here Come the Chicks!

[ihatedarkroast]

I got the hatch date wrong! I thought it would start tomorrow, and I wasn't ready! I had this feeling I should check on them today and found 1 chick alive, and 1 chick squished to death. Then a couple hours later, found a second chick in there. I have two broodies hatching nests at once. They stubbornly insisted on sharing 1 nest, and that's how a chick got smooshed. So, in order to give the hens more room, I had to separate them. I have the chick squisher mama hen in a dog kennel now with some of her eggs. Right now they are in with the flock, so I think tonight I'm gonna attempt to move the rest of the flock to the pen I used for turkeys last year. I do not have the time or patience to fight the rooster every time I go check on the chicks and eggs. I just got home from work. I bet more chicks hatched while I was gone. Gonna take a peek and update later.

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

1 chick squished to death.

oh, that poor chick!

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'm sorry about the chick! It's good you separated them. So excited for your hatch!!!! Nothing's cuter than a mama hen with her babies unless it's TWO mama hens with babies!

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

I'm sorry about the chick! It's good you separated them. So excited for your hatch!!!! Nothing's cuter than a mama hen with her babies unless it's TWO mama hens with babies!

2x

 

[ihatedarkroast]

Ok, so it's not going quite as well as expected. We currently have 3 live, healthy chicks hatched, 1 live chick with a wound on its back, 1 pipped egg, 1 dead half in/half out of the egg for no apparent reason, 1 squished dead and 1 we had to put down. The one we put down had its eye pecked out by possibly the mama. It's also possible, though less likely, it was another chicken or the rooster. In any case the chick seemed weak, in addition to being blind. It was quite heartbreaking. My husband was very shaken by it.

After that, I locked the mama and babies in together. I got some anti-peck wound care for chickens and put it on the chick with the raw back. I think it's going to be just fine. But I don't trust either broody hen now, as both have seemingly killed a chick either on purpose or accident.

We revamped our old turkey pen for the chickens so we could separate them even more, but one of our wily old Ameracaunas climbed the 9' fence and went back to the old coop. She showed the rooster and other chickens how to do it. So they all got out and we will have to start over tomorrow.

In any case, I expect tomorrow morning I will have 5 lively chicks, or more. If another casualty happens, I'm definitely taking the chicks away to the brooder.

 

[ihatedarkroast]

Update: separating the broodies into a nursery coop worked great. Only 1 weak and rejected chick since. Unfortunately 1 of the mamas attacked it and we had to put it down but it was sickly coming out of the egg and I guess the hens knew it wouldn't make it as neither would accept it.

We now have 10 healthy lively chicks. Both hens are sharing parenting duties with the chick flock. I culled the eggs 1 mama left behind and noted none had developed much at all, so she already knew they were not viable.

Minette the polish is still sitting on some eggs while Marie the marans mix takes the chicks out to eat and scratch. The chicks go back and forth between them, using Minette for heat and Marie for going out. It seems to be working and I have learned a lot from my 1st hatch. I will never let them try to set so many eggs again. Maybe 5 each next time and I bet I will have a healthier hatch.

 

[Buckingham Palace]

awwww. Such pretty babys and hens. I’m sorry that it was a traumatic experience and that you lost chicks.

 

[ihatedarkroast]

awwww. Such pretty babys and hens. I’m sorry that it was a traumatic experience and that you lost chicks.

Thank you! It's not an easy lesson to learn, but I guess I need to admit I'm not always smarter than a hen. XD in any case, I'm grateful for the adorable fluffballs we do have, and I'm looking forward to seeing the grow.

 

[ihatedarkroast]

Crap. I thought we were out of the woods, but a chick drowned in the itty bitty screw on jar waterer. How is that even possible? Baaah. I'm going to scrounge for rocks tomorrow and hope for no more fatalities.

 

[Buckingham Palace]

Crap. I thought we were out of the woods, but a chick drowned in the itty bitty screw on jar waterer. How is that even possible? Baaah. I'm going to scrounge for rocks tomorrow and hope for no more fatalities.

Gosh. I’m so sorry. That this is happening.