Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[kilby]

EMERGENCY: today is hatching day for my broody! I went out to check for any baby chicks, and found a chick trying to mover around.... in the membrane, the shell was almost completely gone, and there was still blood inside the membrane. Did the broody try to "help" the chick hatch? She's super protective over her broods, and I've never had issues before.. I ended of getting another egg, sanitizing the shell, and putting the chick's membrane in there so that it could hopefully finish hatching. I would put it in an incubator, but it take up to 2 days for the thing to stabilize. Is there anything else I can do????

So sorry to hear about your dilemma. don't know about the broodies part. I hope you kept it warm as you could though. The incubator might have been started for a back up but now you lost a day.
You need a min max thermometer and use a heat lamp, and maybe a hot gel pack under a towel but not too hot and layers of towel till you get the right combo of temperature. not sure if that would be 100F or what. Did you do anything in the last day and what happened?

 

[kilby]

He has 12 hens. I had another roo that was 1/2 australorp 1/2buff orp n I had him with the hens while the rock was penned up.In June I gave a buddy 42eggs from that mating hoping to diversify the gene pool but something happened n 0 hatched. He said elec was off a couple hrs in the first wk. so they must of got too cool. That roo became fox scat. I have a new batch of mixed 'pullets' I bought last mo.that r 5-6 months old n there is 2 roos in that batch that look to b RI reds.
I don't know if a roo would ned a scrip 4 viagra as he got older or what.

you would not be having this problem then if the other roo was safe which he could not have been.

 

[saltandpepper2]

So sorry to hear about your dilemma.  don't know about the broodies part.  I hope you kept it warm as you could though.  The incubator might have been started for a back up but now you lost a day.
You need a min max thermometer and use a heat lamp, and maybe a hot gel pack under a towel but not too hot and layers of towel till you get the right combo of temperature.  not sure if that would be 100F or what.   Did you do anything in the last day and what happened?

I kept the egg warm, and the membrane moist, but the chick died in 3 hours. After pulling back the membrane, I noticed that part of the yolk had broken and not gotten absorbed. I did get the incubator ready if I have any issues with the rest of the egga

 

[saltandpepper2]

I did have another egg hatch, and it's perfectly healthy, so I'm just keeping a super close eye on her clutch

 

[numzldr]

you would not be having this problem then if the other roo was safe which he could not have been.

Safe? My birds free range they don't stay locked in a coop or kept in a small run. Short of exterminating every living predator both aeriel and afoot,impossible and illegal, they are as safe as any other free ranging bird.
Thanks for the help.

 

[kilby]

Safe? My birds free range they don't stay locked in a coop or kept in a small run. Short of exterminating every living predator both aeriel and afoot,impossible and illegal, they are as safe as any other free ranging bird.
Thanks for the help.

So the fox was hunting in the day. Sorry, I thought predators on foot were at night and maybe your coop was not strong enough. I appreciate your honesty.

 

[numzldr]

So the fox was hunting in the day.  Sorry, I thought predators on foot were at night and maybe your coop was not strong enough.  I appreciate your honesty.

I've come up the driveway at 2 in the afternoon n seen birds scattering n squawking. This spring b4 the beans were planted I followed a fox down the field. He had a hen in his mouth. When that happens I keep them in a few days. It mite be all in my head but I think it breaks their routine.

 

[kilby]

I've come up the driveway at 2 in the afternoon n seen birds scattering n squawking. This spring b4 the beans were planted I followed a fox down the field. He had a hen in his mouth. When that happens I keep them in a few days. It mite be all in my head but I think it breaks their routine.

A guarddog wouldn't help eh? As long as it doesn't hurt chickens. You think right about foxes but they are never far away I imagine. You have to make your chickens harder to get than the next farm.
I have seen where you can put wires up over a fenced corral like a pin wheel with a post and then put tinsel, something shiny, along the wires. They might get in but they would worry they can't get out.. maybe it plays tricks with their vision. anyway, good luck to you. If one hurts we all hurt, when we lose our babies.

 

[chicksurreal]

He has 12 hens. I had another roo that was 1/2 australorp 1/2buff orp n I had him with the hens while the rock was penned up.In June I gave a buddy 42eggs from that mating hoping to diversify the gene pool but something happened n 0 hatched. He said elec was off a couple hrs in the first wk. so they must of got too cool. That roo became fox scat. I have a new batch of mixed 'pullets' I bought last mo.that r 5-6 months old n there is 2 roos in that batch that look to b RI reds.
I don't know if a roo would ned a scrip 4 viagra as he got older or what.

Lol!

Not sure, but it sounds like you have plenty of back up in the rooster department.

 

[chicksurreal]

So the fox was hunting in the day. Sorry, I thought predators on foot were at night and maybe your coop was not strong enough. I appreciate your honesty.

I used to think that the four footed predators came out only at night too. We also free range our chickens and have had a bobcat, a fox and a coyote get some of our chickens during the day. The coops are like Fort Knox, but when they are out during the day it's hard to keep them safe. We're in the process of getting some pups to train for protecting the flock while they are out, but it takes a while to get them to that point. Frustrating.