I have a pretty crazy story...

[PerfectPlumage]

So, I used to have a hen named Featherwing. One day I found her broody in the makeshift coop, so the wait began. Then I realized she was sitting on 1 egg, just 1. And about maybe 30 or 40 days later I realized she had been sitting on that egg for so long. I found she had been sitting on a rotten egg, barely ever getting up for food, she wanted to hatch that little egg so bad. So, I got a fake egg, took the rotten one and quickly put the fake one under her, and waited for another hen to lay an egg. The next day I took the fake egg and put the fresh, new fertile egg under her. 21 more days. I see her clucking around, a beautiful little chick fallowing her. Next day, GONE. The chick, gone, eaten by hawks or foxes or coyotes, maybe even killed by the rooster. (The roo was a jerk).

That poor hen, she waited so long for her little chick.

 

[N F C]

I'm sorry you and your girl lost the chick. Since she is such a devoted broody, she'll probably want to hatch more eggs. For next time, maybe you could keep her in a separate, secure place where the roo or other predators can't get to her and the new chicks?

 

[Skylercarr]

I would let her hatch some more eggs and maybe you could keep your rooster away from the chicks when they hatch.

 

[PerfectPlumage]

I used to have her. She was eaten by a fox. It was a long time ago.. Maybe 2 years. But I sure do wish I still had her, she was indeed so devoted for her little chick!

 

[drumstick diva]

I would have thought she would perish from starvation after brooding for so very long. Like kids, they need adult supervision to see that they take time off to go eat, drink and broody poop outside of the nest box.

 

[drumstick diva]

30-40 days brooding is just cruel. The hen doesn't realize it is insanity to sit on a bad egg, etc. so long. Poor thing. I would have thought she would die sitting on the nest. Many actually do.

 

[PerfectPlumage]

30-40 days brooding is just cruel. The hen doesn't realize it is insanity to sit on a bad egg, etc. so long. Poor thing. I would have thought she would die sitting on the nest. Many actually do.

I brought her food daily because she was losing a lot of weight during being broody.

 

[Bunnylady]

I had a Silkie hen that went broody one Spring. The site she had chosen was popular with the other hens, and they often added more eggs which she dutifully brooded. Sometimes one of the other hens co-brooded with her, sometimes she was the only one. Every day when I went into the pen to feed, she'd jump up, go eat with the flock, stretch her legs a bit, get a drink, and go back to the nest. Three weeks after she had first begun brooding, the eggs she had started with hatched. I pulled the chicks out and put them in the brooder. A couple of days later, another chick hatched, and I put it in the brooder as well. The hen seemed to have been doing a pretty good job of taking care of herself, so we continued like that for several weeks, with her patiently sitting, and several chicks going into the brooder each week.

After a while, I began to get concerned that, though the hen seemed to actually be gaining weight, this wasn't good for her, so I began removing the new eggs as well as the chicks when I saw them. Of the last two eggs, one was a dud, but I left the final chick with the hen. When that chick was two days old, the hen finally left the nest for good.

Sadly, this story, too, has a tragic ending. When the chick was about half grown, a fox (or possibly more than one) dug into the Silkie pen and went on a killing spree. When I went out to feed in the morning, the pen was silent, and there were pathetic little fuzzy bodies all over the place. With a heavy heart, I began collecting the bodies to dispose of them. As I picked up the body of that oh-so-patient hen, something stirred. Sheltered under her body was her chick, still alive! Hidden under her body, he had escaped notice by the fox; he was the the only survivor of that attack.

 

[PerfectPlumage]

I had a Silkie hen that went broody one Spring. The site she had chosen was popular with the other hens, and they often added more eggs which she dutifully brooded. Sometimes one of the other hens co-brooded with her, sometimes she was the only one. Every day when I went into the pen to feed, she'd jump up, go eat with the flock, stretch her legs a bit, get a drink, and go back to the nest. Three weeks after she had first begun brooding, the eggs she had started with hatched. I pulled the chicks out and put them in the brooder. A couple of days later, another chick hatched, and I put it in the brooder as well. The hen seemed to have been doing a pretty good job of taking care of herself, so we continued like that for several weeks, with her patiently sitting, and several chicks going into the brooder each week.

After a while, I began to get concerned that, though the hen seemed to actually be gaining weight, this wasn't good for her, so I began removing the new eggs as well as the chicks when I saw them. Of the last two eggs, one was a dud, but I left the final chick with the hen. When that chick was two days old, the hen finally left the nest for good.

Sadly, this story, too, has a tragic ending. When the chick was about half grown, a fox (or possibly more than one) dug into the Silkie pen and went on a killing spree. When I went out to feed in the morning, the pen was silent, and there were pathetic little fuzzy bodies all over the place. With a heavy heart, I began collecting the bodies to dispose of them. As I picked up the body of that oh-so-patient hen, something stirred. Sheltered under her body was her chick, still alive! Hidden under her body, he had escaped notice by the fox; he was the the only survivor of that attack.

Wow.. I am sorry you lost your Silkies.

That poor little chick had to hide under her dead mum, is he doing ok? And, next time you get a broody hen, maybe don't take the chicks away and put them in a brooder, I always get a better survival rate when the mum hen cares for them. But that's just my opinion. When I get broody hens, this may sound silly, I follow them around all day defending them from hawks. One time a hawk actually swooped down feet away from a chick and I had to run at it waving my arms and screaming. Lol..

 

[N F C]

@Bunnylady wow, that's amazing story about the chick that escaped the carnage! I'm glad you had at least that one chick left from all her hard work.