RebelYell
Hatching
- Aug 1, 2015
- 4
- 0
- 7
Here's the back-story...I'll keep it brief.....
One of our Delawares went broody, so I put 6 fertilized eggs under her and 2 days later, 6 more. So now, she has hatched 4 of the first six, and a couple days later in the afternoon, we found a new chick and one egg that was pipping from the last group of six eggs. The newest chick was not in the nest, had an injured eye and a damaged back. I was perplexed by this. I put the chick in the nest (The hen and her first 4 chicks were off the nest getting water) and when it began cheeping, the hen rushed over and began pecking it, so I removed it. Minutes later, the hen walked back to the nest, stepped on the pipping egg as she sat, slightly crushing the pipping egg. She sat only a few seconds and got off the nest. When the chick inside the pipping egg began cheeping, she rushed over and started to peck the egg, so I grabbed it too before she damaged it. I put the injured chick and the pipping egg in the incubator.
The egg hatched a couple hours later in the incubator, but the injured chick was dead the next morning. So that next day, I put the chick in the nest and she immediately pecked it.
So now, 5 days later, I have a hen raising 4 chicks just fine, and a single chick that she rejected. I do not understand why she rejected it, maybe because it hatched 2 days after the others? It is a black sex-link and the others are Rhode Island Reds, would the color difference matter?
QUESTION: I wonder if I slip the rejected chick under her tonight, would there be a chance she would accept it if they all woke up together? Would the color difference matter?
One of our Delawares went broody, so I put 6 fertilized eggs under her and 2 days later, 6 more. So now, she has hatched 4 of the first six, and a couple days later in the afternoon, we found a new chick and one egg that was pipping from the last group of six eggs. The newest chick was not in the nest, had an injured eye and a damaged back. I was perplexed by this. I put the chick in the nest (The hen and her first 4 chicks were off the nest getting water) and when it began cheeping, the hen rushed over and began pecking it, so I removed it. Minutes later, the hen walked back to the nest, stepped on the pipping egg as she sat, slightly crushing the pipping egg. She sat only a few seconds and got off the nest. When the chick inside the pipping egg began cheeping, she rushed over and started to peck the egg, so I grabbed it too before she damaged it. I put the injured chick and the pipping egg in the incubator.
The egg hatched a couple hours later in the incubator, but the injured chick was dead the next morning. So that next day, I put the chick in the nest and she immediately pecked it.
So now, 5 days later, I have a hen raising 4 chicks just fine, and a single chick that she rejected. I do not understand why she rejected it, maybe because it hatched 2 days after the others? It is a black sex-link and the others are Rhode Island Reds, would the color difference matter?
QUESTION: I wonder if I slip the rejected chick under her tonight, would there be a chance she would accept it if they all woke up together? Would the color difference matter?