Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

I went to check on my broody. Her chicks are due. She had a dead chick in there with her. I think she pecked it. It looked good but had blood on its side. How often do hens kill their chicks? Should I take the rest of the eggs away? I can hear peeping so I know more will be hatching.

I believe you had said your chicks were due on May 5, so the early hatcher may have confused her or freaked her out, and if it hatched early do you know if the yolk was absorbed fully? I know we have had the rare early hatch which had problems, and sometimes they cheep a lot, the mama hens will then peck at them as if to admonish them to be quiet...it is a sad situation and an inexperienced broody can get too upset and harm the chick. Most broody hens aren't homicidal, they are confused by a situation they don't understand and survival instincts kick in. There is also the possibility that the chick posed a risk to the rest of the eggs in the broody's mind and that caused the issue....there are no absolute rules for causes or actions.
Ideally you will be able to observe the hen for the rest of the hatch and intervene if another problem, removing them to an incubator to hatch is risky but certainly an option and grafting them back to the hen is then something to consider but only if you have time to watch for problems the first day.

Sorry I don't have a definitive answer, just too many variables to consider...I hope it works out for the remaining eggs.

 

[Kassaundra]

I went to check on my broody. Her chicks are due. She had a dead chick in there with her. I think she pecked it. It looked good but had blood on its side. How often do hens kill their chicks? Should I take the rest of the eggs away? I can hear peeping so I know more will be hatching.

I would take them if I had another way to finish the hatch, but I just had a broody kill 5 before we knew what was happening.

 

[nchls school]

Curious-what breed were these hens that killed their chicks? I've always maintained that different breeds have different levels of maternal instinct. None of the many broodies I've had have killed their chicks. Some have neglect their offspring, but never to kill them.

 

[austinclarksf]

Hey chicken-people,

I've just come home from a week and a half vacation, and I did notice one of my bantam hens had gone broody a week or two before the trip...and... I got home today and found two baby chicks under her! They are dry and fluffy, hard to say how long they've been out of their eggs! I doubt more than 36 hours. She's got about 6 or 7 more eggs under her as well- there could be more arrivals any time!

I have 9 bantams, 5 cochin and 4 japanese. 2 cochin roosers, 1 japanese. Most hatched 10/31/15, the mama hen is 2 years old, from my older flock. I acquired the young ones in March. 8x8 coop, large grassy run.

I've never had chicks in this fashion, I've only raised incubator babies a handful of times. All 'organically'. What should I do?

So far I've set the mama hen in a new & clean ground-level nesting box with her babies and eggs. I made a private space for them separated by chicken wire, about 2x6, lined with fresh pine shavings, inside the coop. I mashed some pellets for them, and set a shallow waterer in there as well. I plan to acquire chick starter tomorrow when the stores are open. Any suggestions?

 

[h2oratt]

Curious-what breed were these hens that killed their chicks? I've always maintained that different breeds have different levels of maternal instinct. None of the many broodies I've had have killed their chicks. Some have neglect their offspring, but never to kill them.

The hen I have is a cuckoo Maran. She was Bought from mcmurrays hatchery.

 

[nchls school]

The hen I have is a cuckoo Maran. She was quite different from mcmurrays hatchery.

OK. Seems I've read other posts having similar problems with Marans.

 

[nchls school]

Hey chicken-people,

I've just come home from a week and a half vacation, and I did notice one of my bantam hens had gone broody a week or two before the trip...and... I got home today and found two baby chicks under her! They are dry and fluffy, hard to say how long they've been out of their eggs! I doubt more than 36 hours. She's got about 6 or 7 more eggs under her as well- there could be more arrivals any time!

I have 9 bantams, 5 cochin and 4 japanese. 2 cochin roosers, 1 japanese. Most hatched 10/31/15, the mama hen is 2 years old, from my older flock. I acquired the young ones in March. 8x8 coop, large grassy run.

I've never had chicks in this fashion, I've only raised incubator babies a handful of times. All 'organically'. What should I do?

So far I've set the mama hen in a new & clean ground-level nesting box with her babies and eggs. I made a private space for them separated by chicken wire, about 2x6, lined with fresh pine shavings, inside the coop. I mashed some pellets for them, and set a shallow waterer in there as well. I plan to acquire chick starter tomorrow when the stores are open. Any suggestions?

Sounds to me like you've thought of everything.

 

[fisherlady]

[COLOR=333333]Hey chicken-people,[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]I've just come home from a week and a half vacation, and I did notice one of my bantam hens had gone broody a week or two before the trip...and... I got home today and found two baby chicks under her! They are dry and fluffy, hard to say how long they've been out of their eggs! I doubt more than 36 hours. She's got about 6 or 7 more eggs under her as well- there could be more arrivals any time! [/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]I have 9 bantams, 5 cochin and 4 japanese. 2 cochin roosers, 1 japanese. Most hatched 10/31/15, the mama hen is 2 years old, from my older flock.  I acquired the young ones in March. 8x8 coop, large grassy run. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]I've never had chicks in this fashion, I've only raised incubator babies a handful of times. All 'organically'. What should I do?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]So far I've set the mama hen in a new & clean ground-level nesting box with her babies and eggs. I made a private space for them separated by chicken wire, about 2x6, lined with fresh pine shavings, inside the coop. I mashed some pellets for them, and set a shallow waterer in there as well. I plan to acquire chick starter tomorrow when the stores are open. Any suggestions? [/COLOR]

If you don't know when the eggs were set I would candle them tomorrow and remove any viable ones to an incubator, the hen will be wanting to get up from the nest with her already hatched chicks and leave the other eggs exposed. It is the most frequently encountered problem with a staggered hatch.
Even if you don't want to candle and remove the eggs I would certainly set up some type of incubator and get it warmed up in case she leaves the eggs.

 

[Catandherchicks]

OK. Seems I've read other posts having similar problems with Marans.

AAAACK!!! No - now another thing to worry about! . My hen currently sitting on purchased fertile eggs is an Olive Egger (half Marans x Ameraucana).

 

[rlc306]

I have a year old hen that began brooding no roaster no eggs how do I nicely get her out of her nest