Rookie hen soaked chicks

[pgpoultry]

My Gold Brahma hen hatching eggs will probably be the death of me! Firstly she never moved off the nest unless I lifted her and took her a few feet from her beloved eggs.

After suffocating her first two chicks that hatched, she then still refused to leave her nest, even when the eggs which were obviously not going to hatch were removed. She sat and sat, but three chicks hatched out and seemed healthy enough......but she still sat. Eventually she needed to empty and did so, soaking her chicks. I luckily found them soaked and cold in the corner.....one very close to death. I carefully wiped them with warm water, sat them on the Aga in a cardboard box wrapped in kitchen towel and turned on the incubator. I didn't hold out much hope particularly for the severely hypothermic little fellow

Well, seems a miracle happened. An hour later and they were chirping and running around in the incubator, nicely fluffy again. I took them back to Goldie, lifted up her wing and tucked them under. Contented clucking all round.

That was yesterday. She is still sitting tight, but the chicks are starting to run around her. I hope they are out of firing range of her bottom when the inevitable happens again!

Sometimes I ask myself why I keep chickens!

Sandie

 

[kathyinmo]

How long has she been hatching? Does she have a staggered hatch, or were all the eggs set the same date? Maybe you should move the chicks to a brooder, and let her finish hatching.

 

[MareeZoCool]

Sure is true, that old saying,"We are given only those burdens that we are able to carry."
If those chicks had been mine, I wouldn't know how to help them! Luckily for me, my hen was & is a fantastic little momma hen. She waits untill I open the door every morning to relieve herself. Sure makes cleaning her coop easy!

 

[pgpoultry]

Thank you,
Of course I love them to bits.....
This particular hen has no eggs left that she is currently sitting on and has three live chicks, but she still sits!
I have just been to her pen and lifted her, and thankfully.... rumbling noise followed by ghastly gush whilst standing away from the chicks. She then promptly sauntered back to her nest calling the chicks very loudly.
Her friend who went broody at the same time is doing a much better job and is keeping a nice clean nest in her broody pen.
It just seems to be this Gold Brahma hen. I am hoping that she will eventually decide to leave her rather bad-smelling brood quarters otherwise I think I will have to turf her out into a run pen when it is nice and sunny in the middle of the day.
Sandie

 

[elmo]

Um, chickens don't urinate, so I'm not sure how a hen would be able to "soak" her chicks. My broodies droppings are always quite dry. I wonder if your hen has some digestive problems if her droppings are as runny as that.

 

[pgpoultry]

She has been eating next to nothing all the time she has been broody. I am sure that she is under the weather due to this which may account for her badly behaved bowels. She is starting to eat again now, so I am hoping that he gut will sort itself out (REALLY hoping that her gut will sort itself out!),
Sandie