One hatched early, Broody attacked.

[paradisepentacoop]

Aloha all,
I have an Olive Egger who went broody. I let her sit on three eggs and was expecting chicks on the 20th. The nest box is a raised box about a foot off the ground, which I plan on moving the broody and chicks to a ground floor fabric dog crate that the previous broody loved.
However, when I went out to check on the flock today, I saw a very sad sight. The broody was in the nest box doing her thing, but there was a fresh hatchling about 3 feet away (description of wounds in white font)- with a severe head wound and intestines coming out of its vent attached to yolk remnants. I immediately put the hatchling under a brooding plate, but it did not survive its wounds.

My question is, should I pre-emptively take the other two eggs from my broody? I am not sure it was her who attacked the chick; however, the chick was definitely not capable of getting to where it was in the coop without outside help. Do I leave the eggs under the broody and check SUPER frequently so I don't lose others to such a fate?

I do not have an incubator. Where I live the humidity is 68 percent and temperature ranges from 68 to 80 degrees farenheight. One of the other eggs definitely sounds like the chick is starting the pip process.

 

[Debbie292d]

Since you don't have an incubator, you don't have much choice but to let the broody finish hatching, check often, and hopefully she'll leave the other two alone.

Is this her first hatch? I'm assuming so. Usually this only happens once, if at all, so if you let her set on eggs again, she should be fine.

 

[WoDia]

@paradisepentacoop

@Debbie292d brings up a very good point: first-time broody. You can place a barrier around her until her eggs hatch. I also agree, that it’s a good idea to closely monitor her. Since you have no way of knowing whether it was her, watch her close. Sometimes, one will injure/kill her own chicks. I’m not saying she’s a bad mama hen, but sometimes they just are. If she didn’t harm the chick, and is attentive to the hatchlings, it’s a good idea to move her and the chicks to a quiet location away from the flock.

One other thought: if her nest was being disturbed by other hens while she was incubating, that could also be the reason. I hope your eggs safely hatch. Keep us updated.

 

[paradisepentacoop]

@paradisepentacoop

@Debbie292d brings up a very good point: first-time broody. You can place a barrier around her until her eggs hatch. I also agree, that it’s a good idea to closely monitor her. Since you have no way of knowing whether it was her, watch her close. Sometimes, one will injure/kill her own chicks. I’m not saying she’s a bad mama hen, but sometimes they just are. If she didn’t harm the chick, and is attentive to the hatchlings, it’s a good idea to move her and the chicks to a quiet location away from the flock.

One other thought: if her nest was being disturbed by other hens while she was incubating, that could also be the reason. I hope your eggs safely hatch. Keep us updated.

This is her first brood/hatch. They have 4 nest boxes between six hens, but she definitely took the preferred one.

I'll keep an eye out and have my brooding plate on and warm just in case. Thank you two, for your replies.

 

[paradisepentacoop]

Second chick has hatched.
When I checked on the flock pre-dawn I could not find it, despite finding the open shell. I looked under the broody, around the nest, on the ground, etc. I finally moved the broody off the remaining egg and heard faint peeping from the corner of the nest box. There was the little hatchling, wet and cold, not at all floofed out. I swiftly stuffed the poor thing under the broody and let her be for a couple of hours.

Good news! The second hatchling is still alive and substantially more fluffy. The broody seems to be responding very positively to its peeps and is finally acting like a mama hen over an aggressive broody.

I hope the third one hatches today so I can move the entire bunch to the ground floor apartment to prevent any issues with the chick's access to food and water as well as gravity.

Pics when I can.

 

[paradisepentacoop]