May 2023 Hatch-a-long

[Hedgeland Farms]

I need help from those of you with broody experience! Moonsparkle has had a very hard time with her hatch.

The last time I saw her eat or drink was over 48 hours ago. She didn't come down at all yesterday so I left some chick starter and water close to her nest but not in it. I don't know if she had any of it at all and I'm worried that maybe I didn't leave it close enough or maybe I should have gone in to hand feed her. I was trying to give her space and privacy but maybe it was the wrong thing to do.

I woke up this morning to find four dead chicks crushed under her. There were also three chicks alive and healthy as well as two eggs, one of them pipped and one not.

She seemed very distressed and wasn't sitting on the two unhatched eggs anymore. They were totally cold so I took them and put them in the incubator. Since then the pipped one has hatched and the other one has pipped. I was hoping to give them back to her if I can but I'm not sure if she's ok.

I moved her and her three chicks out of the coop into a brooder area I had prepared and she is keeping them under her. They seem fine but I'm very worried about her. She seems calmer and more settled since the move but she doesn't seem very alert and hasn't taken the chicks out yet. She's just very sleepy. Would that be normal? It's midday here now and she hasn't been very awake at all yet since I checked them and moved them at 7am.

I have chick starter there for them and I also gave her a bowl of scrambled egg. There's plain fresh water available but I've put out some electrolyte water as well. So far, she's only taken a couple of pecks when I hold food or water up to her beak and she's not coming out to get any herself.

Does this sound normal or should I be worried? I can only assume she had a very rough night and is exhausted but I would have thought she'd be more keen to eat and drink at this point. Should I do anything else or just give her some time?

Poor girl!!!
I am no help but I hope someone chimes in and helps with some solid advice

 

[Cebarmlds]

I need help from those of you with broody experience! Moonsparkle has had a very hard time with her hatch.

The last time I saw her eat or drink was over 48 hours ago. She didn't come down at all yesterday so I left some chick starter and water close to her nest but not in it. I don't know if she had any of it at all and I'm worried that maybe I didn't leave it close enough or maybe I should have gone in to hand feed her. I was trying to give her space and privacy but maybe it was the wrong thing to do.

I woke up this morning to find four dead chicks crushed under her. There were also three chicks alive and healthy as well as two eggs, one of them pipped and one not.

She seemed very distressed and wasn't sitting on the two unhatched eggs anymore. They were totally cold so I took them and put them in the incubator. Since then the pipped one has hatched and the other one has pipped. I was hoping to give them back to her if I can but I'm not sure if she's ok.

I moved her and her three chicks out of the coop into a brooder area I had prepared and she is keeping them under her. They seem fine but I'm very worried about her. She seems calmer and more settled since the move but she doesn't seem very alert and hasn't taken the chicks out yet. She's just very sleepy. Would that be normal? It's midday here now and she hasn't been very awake at all yet since I checked them and moved them at 7am.

I have chick starter there for them and I also gave her a bowl of scrambled egg. There's plain fresh water available but I've put out some electrolyte water as well. So far, she's only taken a couple of pecks when I hold food or water up to her beak and she's not coming out to get any herself.

Does this sound normal or should I be worried? I can only assume she had a very rough night and is exhausted but I would have thought she'd be more keen to eat and drink at this point. Should I do anything else or just give her some time?

I hold a small bowl of water to the broody when she's on lock down and again during and just after hatch, if she hasnt come off the nest with the chicks after 24 hours I'll set a small dish of wet chick feed next to her in the nest. If she poos in the nest box I'll reach in with a paper towel and remove it and the soiled wood shavings. I usually trust my broodies since they instinctively know what to do. I really don't know what else you can do, maybe your hen is sick? I'm sorry and hope it goes well for her and her chicks.

 

[Lydia Huizenga]

Next Thursday already. Time flies. So far Im still 10 for 10 and there are no bad smells. I also had a hen go broody. This is her first time and so I thought Why Not? and I let her sit on two to see how it goes. I’ll put that in the June Hatch-a-long.

 

[Honora]

Here is one of my two yellow chicks. They are either splash Swedish Flowers or half blue SF and half Buff Orp! I’ll find out when the feathers start coming in I guess. Hoping for splash but they are cute whatever they are.

Hatch is progressing well; I have 14 out now, 1 pip and 1 zipping.

 

[Nomadicus]

I'm down to 4 eggs here on Day 22. One that pipped gave up and died. If no pip this afternoon I'll candle again and if not viable discard and move the chicks to their awaiting brooder.

 

[Waterfaery]

I hold a small bowl of water to the broody when she's on lock down and again during and just after hatch, if she hasnt come off the nest with the chicks after 24 hours I'll set a small dish of wet chick feed next to her in the nest. If she poos in the nest box I'll reach in with a paper towel and remove it and the soiled wood shavings. I usually trust my broodies since they instinctively know what to do. I really don't know what else you can do, maybe your hen is sick? I'm sorry and hope it goes well for her and her chicks.

Thanks. I've kept offering her food and electrolyte water and she's had a bit more now, although she still hasn't come out to eat and drink of her own accord. She's still just snoozing away with the chicks under her. She occasionally startles awake and chats to them but then dozes off again.

I was worried that she might be dehydrated or weak with starvation but I hadn't thought about her being sick with an infection or anything. I hope that's not the case.

It's just that I haven't had a broody hen before so I don't know what's normal and what's not. It's been over 11 hours since I checked and moved them this morning. I'd usually be very concerned if a hen slept all day but I don't know if that's just what broody hens with newly hatched chicks do. Would they often not leave the nest for so long after the hatch finishes? I mean, if she's just waiting for the chicks to be ready, she might as well sleep it off I suppose?

I hope that's all it is. The chicks will want to explore eventually so I'll have to wait and see how she is then. In the meantime, I've put the food and water right in front of her and I'm just keeping an eye from a distance.

She's got 4 chicks now. The one that finished hatching in the incubator I put back in with her as soon as it was dry and she took it carefully under her. The remaining egg is still in the incubator. My daughter had said she saw it pip but I checked and it hasn't. I candled it and it hasn't even pipped internally. I'll check again tomorrow but I'd say it's not ok.

Anyway, I'm very happy with four and I mainly just want to make sure she recovers well now so she can enjoy being a mama.

 

[Cebarmlds]

A broody will stay on the nest for a day or even two, I haven't always given them food, just some water and most times they get off the nest sooner. Your hen seems to sleep more than usual by the way you are describing her, so I would continue with the water, just hold the bowl to her and take it back after she's done drinking so it doesn't spill. Is the nest low so she and the chicks can get in and out?

 

[Waterfaery]

A broody will stay on the nest for a day or even two, I haven't always given them food, just some water and most times they get off the nest sooner. Your hen seems to sleep more than usual by the way you are describing her, so I would continue with the water, just hold the bowl to her and take it back after she's done drinking so it doesn't spill. Is the nest low so she and the chicks can get in and out?

Thank you so much. I will definitely keep bringing the water to her beak until she starts coming out herself. Yes, the new nest is about 10cm off the ground with a very low, chick safe ramp. I was hoping they'd come out even just for a small time today but I will have to close their ramp for the night in another couple of hours.

I don't really know what went so wrong last night. Maybe I gave her too many eggs? She seems more comfortable with the chicks under her now so I hope no more chicks get crushed tonight.

 

[Canadian Wind]

I just got home and once I finally sat down at the computer, I heard frantic chirping coming from the OEGB cage! I quickly went to look, and then went into rescue-mode. Two eggs knocked out of the nest, sitting cold. One chick in a corner, cold. And another chick *next to the hen* screaming his head off!

The screaming chick got put under momma (and has stopped screaming), and the eggs and cold chick are in the incubator. I will try to re-introduce later.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Well, the cold chick is warming up nicely and chirping very loudly. Thank goodness!!!