Need help moving a hen that has hatched a few peeps and still has eggs yet to hatch

[RichnSteph]

When I have had a broodies adopt chicks the have started out in a high nest (around 3' ) where they were sitting. I gave the chicks to them at night. The next day one of them had them on the floor with no help and no problems. The next one sat for another day before I put her and the chick that hadn't already jumped on the floor. Chicks are good without food and water for 72 hours, so I would either wait for a couple of days, putting the ones back that jump down, then move them. Or move them all now and risk the mother abandons the unhatched eggs in the new nest if she doesn't like it You putting up with some risk either way.

After my last screw up with the chicks I'm trying to avoid as much risk as possible.

So far she's hatched 4 of 10 eggs and I got to thinking about it and realized that she's only a little under 9 months old (born on 1 January this year) so I'm pretty proud of her for sitting the eggs and doing so well. I've taken to putting food and water in there every morning and evening and when I do she makes this little "durt-durt-durt" noise and the chicks come running from under her to eat and drink. She's taken to pooping in there so I clean out from her behind twice a day also and add in some new shavings. Once she's off the nest completely I'll take the remaining eggs, candle them and then set the ones that look like they have chicks in them under our little brooders tunnel "thing" for a few days and see if any of them hatch.

Oh side note here. The chicks that have hatched were from eggs laid on the 4th and 5th (they were marked) and having hatched on the 24th and 25th means that they were only under the hen for 20 days. I thought they had to go longer? I'm not concerned for the chicks just curious.

Thank you again all!

 

[Den in Penn]

Not a screw up... just another hard learning experience. Warmer weather can speed the incubation rate. I don't think it matters much having a shorter period. A broody gets off the nest to do her business so during cooler weather the eggs can cool more then warmer. So my theory is that during the warmer weather their development is slowed less then cooler temperatures.

 

[RichnSteph]

Well that went bad in a hurry. One of our black australorp hens (the sister of one of the broody hens) got up into the nest and killed 4 chicks.

Clara took the one remaining chick and fled the nest with it so she's got one out of the five that were in there with her. Then the other broody jumped in the nest and promptly hatched two more chicks. I put the chick killer in a dog kennel over night and she'll stay there until the other eggs have hatched or the current broody leaves the nest with her chicks.

So out of 10 eggs we've got 3 chicks so far that are alive (as of an hour ago), 4 killed by a hen, 1 found dead partially out of the egg and two eggs left to go. If I see that one hen even look at a chick in a manner that I feel is threatening she's going to freezer camp.

After all this is done we're planning on having two hens that are allowed to sit on a nest of eggs and hatch them. If anyone else tries it I'm dunking them in the stock tank and putting them in jail until they decide that motherhood is not for them.

 

[nchls school]

Well that went bad in a hurry. One of our black australorp hens (the sister of one of the broody hens) got up into the nest and killed 4 chicks.

Clara took the one remaining chick and fled the nest with it so she's got one out of the five that were in there with her. Then the other broody jumped in the nest and promptly hatched two more chicks. I put the chick killer in a dog kennel over night and she'll stay there until Think twice about letting the chick killer back with the flock if the chicks are there too. Until they're older it would not be safe. the other eggs have hatched or the current broody leaves the nest with her chicks.

So out of 10 eggs we've got 3 chicks so far that are alive (as of an hour ago), 4 killed by a hen, 1 found dead partially out of the egg and two eggs left to go. If I see that one hen even look at a chick in a manner that I feel is threatening she's going to freezer camp.

After all this is done we're planning on having two hens that are allowed to sit on a nest of eggs and hatch them. If anyone else tries it I'm dunking them in the stock tank and putting them in jail until they decide that motherhood is not for them.

 

[aart]

Well that went bad in a hurry. One of our black australorp hens (the sister of one of the broody hens) got up into the nest and killed 4 chicks.

Clara took the one remaining chick and fled the nest with it so she's got one out of the five that were in there with her. Then the other broody jumped in the nest and promptly hatched two more chicks. I put the chick killer in a dog kennel over night and she'll stay there until the other eggs have hatched or the current broody leaves the nest with her chicks.

So out of 10 eggs we've got 3 chicks so far that are alive (as of an hour ago), 4 killed by a hen, 1 found dead partially out of the egg and two eggs left to go. If I see that one hen even look at a chick in a manner that I feel is threatening she's going to freezer camp.

After all this is done we're planning on having two hens that are allowed to sit on a nest of eggs and hatch them. If anyone else tries it I'm dunking them in the stock tank and putting them in jail until they decide that motherhood is not for them.

OhBrother!! You are really running up a steep learning curve here...trial by fire!
Best of cLuck getting thru it all.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Dunking in water doesn't work, putting them somewhere they can't heat up is the key to breaking a broody, concrete floor, wire bottom cage, stuff like that.

Other chickens seem to get jealous of hens with chicks, that's why I pen them within the coop, after a week or so the other hens calm down and are less likely to go after mom or chicks, it also gives the chicks a chance to grow and get good at running.

Sorry, it sometimes can be hard to make the right decision, chickens make up their own minds about stuff and sometimes we can't control everything

I would return the chick killer to the flock, she was working off instinct, confine the hen and the chicks.

 

[RichnSteph]

Dunking in water doesn't work, putting them somewhere they can't heat up is the key to breaking a broody, concrete floor, wire bottom cage, stuff like that.

Other chickens seem to get jealous of hens with chicks, that's why I pen them within the coop, after a week or so the other hens calm down and are less likely to go after mom or chicks, it also gives the chicks a chance to grow and get good at running.

Sorry, it sometimes can be hard to make the right decision, chickens make up their own minds about stuff and sometimes we can't control everything

I would return the chick killer to the flock, she was working off instinct, confine the hen and the chicks.

Thank you for the advice!