need advice! taking chicks away?

[scooby]

I have a broody RIR that was sitting i candled them and she had 3 out of 10 good ones. Well after i figured she was broody i Found a friend that gave me some banty eggs so i decided to put those under her and a few others and wait the 7 days to see if they were started then take the others 3 eggs away if they where. well i went out to candle them since its been 8 days and to my surprise, there was a hatched chick,( i guess they were farther then i thought i didn't know when she started sitting and couldn't get a good candle on them)candled the other eggs that i set a week ago and the batman eggs are developing, SO question is what can i do? if i take the babys away and put them in a brooder will she keep sitting on the rest of the eggs? or will she start looking for them?could i re introduce the 3 hatchlings back to her in 2 1/2 weeks when the others hatch. or should i leave the 3 babys with her and throw out the rest of the eggs, but i really want these 2 bantys. Help i need advice. As of last night she had one hatchling and there should be three, she is still sitting on the eggs. what do i do?

 

[scooby]

just checked her again this morning and there is still only 1 hatchling.

 

[scooby]

anybody?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Hi Scooby, my guess would be she will abandon the rest of the eggs if she knows she has chicks she needs to provide for, I just messed up my hatch and she gave up on them and I found them cold, I saved them with a lot of time and effort and the help of a incubator. I am not sure how long its healthy for a broody to sit, sounds like she is already sitting for 20 days.

 

[scooby]

the way i kinda was thinking about it is if i take the chick away, if she decides to leave the nest to "find" them the rest of the eggs will get cold and die anyways within a few hrs. so if that happens i can return the baby's within a few hrs. and she will accept them back probably. and even if i don't take the baby's away she will (i was told) abandon the nest usually within a few days anyway to care for the baby's so the eggs will die anyways, so either way there is a chance the eggs now will die. anyways that is kinda how i was thinking about it. also tomorrow will be day 2 and the other 2 eggs that were developing with this chick has still not hatched. so i am starting to wonder if they will at all or if they perhaps died. I figured i would give her like 2 more days on them to give them a good chance to hatch if they were for some odd reason a day or 2 behind.

Or do you think i would have a better chance leaving the baby with her and hope she stays on the eggs another 12 days? so far she still has not left her nest, and this is her first broody experience so maybe she does not "know" better.... i have put a water dish and food dish right in front of her within reaching distance and she has been eating and drinking. and i have observed baby trying to eat also,I showed baby the water and stuck her beak in it but have not seen her drink yet.

one last thing , she decided to make her nest on the coop floor I have a good size coop 12x12 walk in. so i did not move her but i was thinking of building a partition type thing to put around her, Maybe it will encourage her to stay on the nest?

 

[scooby]

just refilled their water and saw that baby is drinking and eating.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

the way i kinda was thinking about it is if i take the chick away, if she decides to leave the nest to "find" them the rest of the eggs will get cold and die anyways within a few hrs. so if that happens i can return the baby's within a few hrs. and she will accept them back probably. and even if i don't take the baby's away she will (i was told) abandon the nest usually within a few days anyway to care for the baby's so the eggs will die anyways, so either way there is a chance the eggs now will die. anyways that is kinda how i was thinking about it. also tomorrow will be day 2 and the other 2 eggs that were developing with this chick has still not hatched. so i am starting to wonder if they will at all or if they perhaps died. I figured i would give her like 2 more days on them to give them a good chance to hatch if they were for some odd reason a day or 2 behind.

Or do you think i would have a better chance leaving the baby with her and hope she stays on the eggs another 12 days? so far she still has not left her nest, and this is her first broody experience so maybe she does not "know" better.... i have put a water dish and food dish right in front of her within reaching distance and she has been eating and drinking. and i have observed baby trying to eat also,I showed baby the water and stuck her beak in it but have not seen her drink yet.

one last thing , she decided to make her nest on the coop floor I have a good size coop 12x12 walk in. so i did not move her but i was thinking of building a partition type thing to put around her, Maybe it will encourage her to stay on the nest?

Mine didn't stay on the nest, she got up after 2 days to care for her chicks and only went back periodically to rest and keep the chicks warm

 

[scooby]

OK yesterday we had another hatch, so first hatched on Monday second on Thursday and there is a third egg that is developing with that batch that has not hatched, momma still has not gotten up and is still sitting on the nest. 9 days till the 2ND batch hatches.went and checked 2ND baby yesterday and momma was being very rough with her, pecking her and pulling her, and this morning she is dead what do you think happened? do you think she killed it?
also i was complete baffled when it hatched yesterday since it has been 4 days in between the eggs hatching, i was pretty sure the 2 eggs where dead at that point and planned to take them away, this has and is the weirdest broody setting, and i have no idea what to do!!!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I have no clue, the poor thing.

 

[chickydee64]

I have no clue, the poor thing.

She likely became confused and thought the chick belonged to someone else.
I would leave her with her one chick .maybe let her try for the third.
But she may kill it..I'm sorry you are having difficult decisions to make.
As far as taking the chick and putting it back, she will not recognize it.
I don't have much advise because each hen I have is different.