- Sep 16, 2011
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I had a broody hen hatch some chicks, abandon the nest while some eggs were still pipped to move her new chicks elsewhere, and I finished hatching those eggs out in an incubator. In all, I had three incubator-hatched chicks. The first two hatched the day of and were transferred under the hen at night with no issue. The third one hatched a bit late is giving me some trouble tonight. This chick is 1 day old, the oldest chicks are 4 days old.
The hen seems ok with taking this newest chick, but it doesn't seem to have the instinct that the others had to move under the hen. Every time I go out there to check on it in the past hour, it is snuggled near the hen, cold, but not under her. It is definitely too cold of a night for it to not be beneath her. I just risked life and limb (she's feisty about protecting her chicks) to physically shove this chick deep underneath the hen and will go check on them again in a bit. In the meantime, any thoughts or tips? This chick seems otherwise bright, alert, and healthy but it is not behaving with the instinct for survival that I saw the other two exhibit.
The hen seems ok with taking this newest chick, but it doesn't seem to have the instinct that the others had to move under the hen. Every time I go out there to check on it in the past hour, it is snuggled near the hen, cold, but not under her. It is definitely too cold of a night for it to not be beneath her. I just risked life and limb (she's feisty about protecting her chicks) to physically shove this chick deep underneath the hen and will go check on them again in a bit. In the meantime, any thoughts or tips? This chick seems otherwise bright, alert, and healthy but it is not behaving with the instinct for survival that I saw the other two exhibit.