Questions Again!

[EmAbTo48]

How long can a chick go without food and water after hatching?

Is it possible for a the mother to just continue brooding and leave the chick to learn where the food and water is on its own?


I have never allowed a hen to do the work, I usually do it myself. My 2 chicks that have hatched (just today) are still under mom and she is still brooding the last 2 eggs.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The hen will do the right thing.
Day olds are sent in the mail and spend some time in a box.
48-72 hours is good. If the eggs don't hatch she'll abandon them for the chicks.
Don't be a mother, let the hen do that.

 

[tec27]

some mothers don't know what they're doing too so you never know. You have to realize that these are domesticated chickens. Their broody instincts have been lost along the way. Well most of them anyway. You will get the occasionally broody hen that is able to raise babies but its not the norm. Except for silkies, they somehow always go broody.

The chicks will however learn where the food and water is on its own most times. This is instinct.

But to answer your question a chick can go without food for 2-3 days, just surviving on the yolk they absorbed in the shell. They can go without water for probably the same amount of time.