Only 1 Show Girl Chick made it - Need some input I wont have any more?

[Seeing Silkies]

I did bator hatching TO STRESSING

So my silkie went broody ( for the 1st time 10 months old ) and I thought YA let her do it... Even more STRESSING

I thought she started on the 8th of last month but non pips until the 1st of this month by that night she had 1 healthy chick and more with pips

i went out the next morning and the healthy one was under her dead & pecked, one half out of the shell dead and all eggs had holes in them & were dryed up.

3 seemed be savable... after a long day & long night I have 1 healthy show girl chick, I wont have any more chicks for at least 3 weeks ( if I am lucky ) What can I do for the chick in the mean time.

I have her in the house in a large clear bin with a heat light & food & water & stuffed animal. Brooder type setting. she is about 40 hours old any ideas of what you did for a lone chick would be very helpful.

As for the hen she is still sitting in her box, She was a great sitter.. Why would she of done this, will she all ways do it??

Thats coop had 1 other hen with a 3 week old chick, a roo 6 months old and 4 other 10 week old chicks. Every one knew there place & there was never any trouble???

Thanks so much

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Sorry... but glad you did get one! Sounds like you are doing everything you can for it.

Are you sure she killed the baby herself? Sometimes another mom with a baby will want to kill any othe mom's "competing" babies... you know, good with her own but not with anyone else's. I have 2 sisters right now with babies... if the wrong baby goes too close to the other mom, she (either one) is not nice at all to it. Consider it was the other hen.

 

[Seeing Silkies]

Thank you for the reply,,, The chaces of the other hen do'ing it are slim... I have there nest boxes just inches off the floor, The 1st one hatched and came out of the box and was walking around with all the others, cheeping trying to find the hen. So I put him back in with mom and made the lip of the box a few inches taller so they could not get out, he went right under her and up inside he wing & was peeking out.. everything i found was under her & the lip was as i put it, I just tucked in a piece of cardboard, soo I think if the other hen had went to her box and did it, the cardboard would of been moved if not knoked down.

This hen went broody on group egg box show grils & silkies. There were 15 eggs and it took about 2 weeks for them to be laid.. I didnt think they would be any good to hatch.... out of the 15, 2 were clear so then she was down 13 and i drop one durning candeling took her down to 12. Could the clutch have been to big? some were hatching out & she was pertecting the eggs from them?

After I took everything out the hen still sat in her box like she had eggs, I put her out side didnt help, I closed the box didnt help, so yesterday I gave her 2 eggs to hatch out and will hope just a small batch will show her, sit on them, let them hatch & be a good mommy.


Here a pic of the one who made it through this, he / she is living in our kitchen on the counter.

 

[flgardengirl]

Aww he/she is way cute!