Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Miss Lydia]

Okay what a day, hubby and i had plans to go to city to do monthly shopping at Sams club, lunch, Walmart. Lowes and TSC are you tired yet? lol I am well this morning when I let everyone out this is about 6;30 am all was going good then I hear a ruckous go running out thinking my goose got one of the mamas well it was my 2 mama hens again and looked like my frizzle that has the 1 chick needed to be separated from everyone for a while, so i put her and her chick into the big coop and left them while we were gone, got home went and opened up the door to see if she wanted to bring her chick out and hadn't gotten hardly out the door when my other mama hen attacked the frizzles chcik and made a small wound on her back, oh my goosness I can't believe this i think her intent was to kill that chick, so anyway had to put mama frizzle back into the small coop thats divided and put my hen Scarlett that was sitting on eggs back into the other coop where she had started sitting to begin with, I guess I'll decide tomorrow on how long to leave Ebbie and her chick locked up. I have had hens go at each other over chicks before but never like this.. it's crazy. I know Isabelle waited 42 days to get her chicks but that doesn't give her the right to kill my frizzle Ebbies chick.. Has anyone else had to deal with this before?

 

[stonykill]

Okay what a day, hubby and i had plans to go to city to do monthly shopping at Sams club, lunch, Walmart. Lowes and TSC are you tired yet? lol I am well this morning when I let everyone out this is about 6;30 am all was going good then I hear a ruckous go running out thinking my goose got one of the mamas well it was my 2 mama hens again and looked like my frizzle that has the 1 chick needed to be separated from everyone for a while, so i put her and her chick into the big coop and left them while we were gone, got home went and opened up the door to see if she wanted to bring her chick out and hadn't gotten hardly out the door when my other mama hen attacked the frizzles chcik and made a small wound on her back, oh my goosness I can't believe this i think her intent was to kill that chick, so anyway had to put mama frizzle back into the small coop thats divided and put my hen Scarlett that was sitting on eggs back into the other coop where she had started sitting to begin with, I guess I'll decide tomorrow on how long to leave Ebbie and her chick locked up. I have had hens go at each other over chicks before but never like this.. it's crazy. I know Isabelle waited 42 days to get her chicks but that doesn't give her the right to kill my frizzle Ebbies chick.. Has anyone else had to deal with this before?

wow! No I have never encountered this

 

[Miss Lydia]

wow! No I have never encountered this

Well i haven't either.

 

[prairie]

Sunny,
So true!! Sometimes I just look around in amazement and the things He created!!

To me, an amazing creation points to an even more awesome Creator...

 

[msmechanic58]

Ok so now things are going wrong. I have two chicks dead that looked like they may have been squished. two dead that were not squished. I think it may be the heat. The coop is warm as it is very hot here. I took 4 externally pipped eggs and threw them in the bator. I left her 3 eggs that had not pipped yet. Should I leave those, steal them. Do you think it is the heat or the hen?

AWWW I am so sorry! It was heat indexes of near 100 here when ours were hatching. We had all but 2 get out successfully. One tried to hatch but didn't get free and the other was just no good.

 

[kizanne]

Well good news bad news and PICTURES.

Good new is Fern seems to be taking to the babies once they are hatched but the bad news I think she squished the ones that didn't get hatched and out of the way got stepped on.

She hatched one out but then chicks started dieing so I took the pipped eggs and hatched 4 in the bator. She has taken 3 of them willingly the last one I left in the bator to fluff alittle she had a hard hatch with the membrane toughening up and the shell sticking. After a little help she is out but sticky. I plan on added her to the clutch tonight.

One of the chicks was born with something attached to it's stomach/vent area, I'm hoping an embylical cord cause I cut it. The chick couldn't walk and was flopping around the brooder floor, so I cut it. So far (a few hours) chick is doing well.

Here are a few picture of the broody and babies though hard to see.

 

[bobbieschicks]

 Exactly, it's really impressive!  Like when chicks born at a hatchery and raised in a brooder box know that when you cross the open yard you need to spread your wings, duck your head, and run like the wind in case a hawk is watching.  It's impressive how broody hens know just how long to time their daily coffee breaks and how close to set upon the eggs to keep them at just the right temperature.  I've seen hens spread themselves almost flat (my kids laugh and say "look, a chicken pancake!") over their egglings during cold spells and take only the briefest of breaks off the nest.  And watched others on really hot afternoons standing up over their eggs to allow a breeze to blow there, and indulge in a dust bath during their extended breaks. 

To me, an amazing creation points to an even more awesome Creator...

Xs2!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Well good news bad news and PICTURES.

Good new is Fern seems to be taking to the babies once they are hatched but the bad news I think she squished the ones that didn't get hatched and out of the way got stepped on.

She hatched one out but then chicks started dieing so I took the pipped eggs and hatched 4 in the bator.  She has taken 3 of them willingly the last one I left in the bator to fluff alittle she had a hard hatch with the membrane toughening up and the shell sticking.  After a little help she is out but sticky. I plan on added her to the clutch tonight.

One of the chicks was born with something attached to it's stomach/vent area, I'm hoping an embylical cord cause I cut it.  The chick couldn't walk and was flopping around the brooder floor, so I cut it.  So far (a few hours) chick is doing well.

Here are a few picture of the broody and babies though hard to see.

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Beautiful momma and such cutie pie chicks!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Okay what a day, hubby and i had plans to go to city to do monthly shopping at Sams club, lunch, Walmart. Lowes and TSC are you tired yet?  lol I am well this morning when I let everyone out this is about 6;30 am all was going good then I hear a ruckous go running out thinking my goose got one of the mamas well it was my 2 mama hens again and looked like my frizzle that has the 1 chick needed to be separated from everyone for a while, so i put her and her chick into the big coop and left them while we were gone, got home went and opened up the door to see if she wanted to bring her chick out and hadn't gotten hardly out the door when my other mama hen attacked the frizzles chcik and made a small wound on her back, oh my goosness I can't believe this i think her intent was to kill that chick, so anyway had to put mama frizzle back into the small coop thats divided and put my hen Scarlett that was sitting on eggs back into the other coop where she had started sitting to begin with, I guess I'll decide tomorrow on how long to leave Ebbie and her chick locked up. I have had hens go at each other over chicks before but never like this.. it's crazy. I know Isabelle waited 42 days to get her chicks but that doesn't give her the right to kill my frizzle Ebbies chick.. Has anyone else had to deal with this before?  

I'm sorry she got attacked. I hope the baby will be fine.

Well Smokey attacks Topsy every chance she gets, but she hasn't attacked the babies thankfully. I don't know what, if anything, Topsy did when Smokey was out and about with her last brood of chicks who are now 12 weeks old, but whatever it was Smokey hasn't forgotten. The other pullets walk around and Smokey doesn't do anything, but if Topsy comes around BAM Smokey's on her like flies on poop!

Maybe it's because Topsy is lowest in the pecking order of the older pullets and Smokey is 2nd from the top. It can get pretty brutal. And remember that my cockerel Foghorn, who has since been rehomed, attacked that one Wellie and flung it down. So weird chicken drama is not out of the realm of possibilities.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Here she is with her brand new baby.

Adorable!