INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Pollitos6]

I think my broody hens actually assist the chick hatch sometimes. I doubt you'll have to do anything. I've seen them cluck and peck at shell to get the chick moving inside.

Yup I remember when one of my chick hatched, she was still attached to half of the egg and mamma hen pecked the egg away from the chick. My mouth felt open but the chick was perfectly fine.

 

[Pollitos6]

hello all,

So my daughter told me that driving home from work early in the morning she saw 2 coyotes a block away from our home and other 2 coyotes near our mailbox. I have a very long drive way to the mailbox but still that's too close for my comfort. I have to put my chihuahua in her kennel at night (before she serves as coyote snack). The other three dogs are middle size and should be ok, at least to scare them off with their bark. I had a nursery set up using a dog house beside the main coop, that's where I keep the younger chicks and my two remaining ducklings. I also decided to put them all inside the main coop (my main coop is a 14'x8') and this gives me a peace of mind. They were all roaming together during the day anyways so they were getting alone fine. Now my worry is my broody hen who has been hiding under the deck with Lord knows how many eggs. Her eggs should hatch sometime this coming week. I have fenced the bottom of the deck with galvanized fence to protect her from any predators , including my dogs, in case she comes out with the babies. I have left open about 3 feet and made a box shape with chicken wire that way she can come out with the babies from under the deck , eat and drink. My worry is that with coyotes roaming around they can rip apart the box shape chicken wire like toilet paper. I don't know what to do... I can get the hen when she comes out to eat but the eggs should be ready to hatch in a few days and I don't have a clue where under the deck she is hiding the eggs. Should I say a prayer and hope for the best until I can get her and the babies to a safer place?

 

[Molpet]

hello all,

So my daughter told me that driving home from work early in the morning she saw 2 coyotes a block away from our home and other 2 coyotes near our mailbox. I have a very long drive way to the mailbox but still that's too close for my comfort. I have to put my chihuahua in her kennel at night (before she serves as coyote snack). The other three dogs are middle size and should be ok, at least to scare them off with their bark. I had a nursery set up using a dog house beside the main coop, that's where I keep the younger chicks and my two remaining ducklings. I also decided to put them all inside the main coop (my main coop is a 14'x8') and this gives me a peace of mind. They were all roaming together during the day anyways so they were getting alone fine. Now my worry is my broody hen who has been hiding under the deck with Lord knows how many eggs. Her eggs should hatch sometime this coming week. I have fenced the bottom of the deck with galvanized fence to protect her from any predators , including my dogs, in case she comes out with the babies. I have left open about 3 feet and made a box shape with chicken wire that way she can come out with the babies from under the deck , eat and drink. My worry is that with coyotes roaming around they can rip apart the box shape chicken wire like toilet paper. I don't know what to do... I can get the hen when she comes out to eat but the eggs should be ready to hatch in a few days and I don't have a clue where under the deck she is hiding the eggs. Should I say a prayer and hope for the best until I can get her and the babies to a safer place?

I would put water and food under the porch, remove the chicken wire and secure with strong fence

 

[man_of_fishers]

Bad news on the aggressive hen that attacked the chicks/Silkie momma. I just got home and the black chick shown in the video has a tear in its abdomen and its yolk sac came out. It’s pretty weak. I gave it a drink with a dropper and partitioned off the nesting box with food and water in it. But I doubt it will survive. It’s a shame, but is just a learning experience.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Bad news on the aggressive hen that attacked the chicks/Silkie momma. I just got home and the black chick shown in the video has a tear in its abdomen and its yolk sac came out. It’s pretty weak. I gave it a drink with a dropper and partitioned off the nesting box with food and water in it. But I doubt it will survive. It’s a shame, but is just a learning experience.

It's always tough learning the hard way but no one would be able to teach you exactly what to do in every situation. I doubt your poor chick will make it but I pray I'm wrong. I wouldnt have thought to close her off from the others either so even though it sucked to learn this way you also taught us all the lesson in the process

 

[Molpet]

Bad news on the aggressive hen that attacked the chicks/Silkie momma. I just got home and the black chick shown in the video has a tear in its abdomen and its yolk sac came out. It’s pretty weak. I gave it a drink with a dropper and partitioned off the nesting box with food and water in it. But I doubt it will survive. It’s a shame, but is just a learning experience.

Only hen I had attack another's chick, was a first time broody turkey.

 

[Pollitos6]

I would put water and food under the porch, remove the chicken wire and secure with strong fence

That's a great Idea!

Thanks

 

[Pollitos6]

Bad news on the aggressive hen that attacked the chicks/Silkie momma. I just got home and the black chick shown in the video has a tear in its abdomen and its yolk sac came out. It’s pretty weak. I gave it a drink with a dropper and partitioned off the nesting box with food and water in it. But I doubt it will survive. It’s a shame, but is just a learning experience.

I am sorry

 

[man_of_fishers]

The black chick which was attacked died last night. That’s just how it goes sometimes.

While Leghorns are in general more aloof birds, I do think that a contributing factor to her aggressiveness is that she has no peers like the other hens do. She lost all of her companions to raccoons last year and now she is a bit of a loner. I’ll have to keep monitoring her to see if this behavior continues.

 

[Finnie]

Hello Finnie:
Well I talked with the family regarding the option to put Candy up for adoption. A cousin of my husband told me she will love to have Candy. She has known my dog since she was a pup and Candy likes her. However... after talking with the kids they asked me to give her another chance. They promised they will watch her and they will keep the chickens and ducks in their area unless they are supervised and in that case they can free range in our backyard. So.. even though I am still hurt for what happened i wanted my kids know that I respect their opinion and I decided to keep Candy. This has been an eye opener for us and we are also supervising our other dogs when they are close to our poultry. My other dogs have never hurt any of my poultry but I am not taking any more chances.

Thanks for your advise

Yay for Candy! And yay for your kids! Yes, it is tough to learn lessons the hard way.

The black chick which was attacked died last night. That’s just how it goes sometimes.

While Leghorns are in general more aloof birds, I do think that a contributing factor to her aggressiveness is that she has no peers like the other hens do. She lost all of her companions to raccoons last year and now she is a bit of a loner. I’ll have to keep monitoring her to see if this behavior continues.

I’m sorry you lost one.