sebright thread

[SueT]

My bantam broodies tend to run hot & usually hatch day 19-20.

her hormones will be running high and the urge to mother will take over.

This is day 21 and hatching is under way. But there seems to be a problem. I went inside an hour ago and saw her pecking gently at something not under her, ran and got a flashlight and there was a tiny black chick out in the hay. Cold and limp. Totally fluffed out. It's cold this morning, 47º . I thought, well, it's dead and she pushed it to the side. I took it in my hand and felt it move! I have it inside on a heating pad (on low). It has been opening its beak and moving slightly. I keep touching it to stimulate it. I keep checking on the broody, then on this chick. I don't know if she'd push the others out....I did get a glimpse of one unhatched egg.

 

[Faraday40]

I'd warm it up, make sure it's OK, & try putting it under her. Watch & see what she does. She's new at this hatching thing & may not understand the end goal. It probably felt strange to have a moving chick under her and could have been an accident. If she doesn't adapt now, keep the chick for a day & try again. There's a small chance she won't take care of it, but usually the hormones switch from incubation to mothering. Perhaps, her switch hasn't flipped yet & she just needs a little more time.

 

[SueT]

I'd warm it up, make sure it's OK, & try putting it under her. Watch & see what she does. She's new at this hatching thing & may not understand the end goal. It probably felt strange to have a moving chick under her and could have been an accident. If she doesn't adapt now, keep the chick for a day & try again. There's a small chance she won't take care of it, but usually the hormones switch from incubation to mothering. Perhaps, her switch hasn't flipped yet & she just needs a little more time.

It's wiggling a little more, I heard it chirp. I'm keeping it warm and waiting to see what happens w the next one...

 

[Faraday40]

View attachment 1147963 It's wiggling a little more, I heard it chirp. I'm keeping it warm and waiting to see what happens w the next one...

awww!
Putting electrolytes - like "Sav-a-chick" - in their water does wonders. Whenever I have a weak chick it always seems to do the trick. (Just dip beak in water.)

 

[TattooedChicks]

View attachment 1147963 It's wiggling a little more, I heard it chirp. I'm keeping it warm and waiting to see what happens w the next one...

Oh my heart, what a precious little one.

 

[SueT]

Another chick has hatched and mama seems to be taking care of it! I am waiting tho to reintroduce#1, who is finding its feet, between resting. The heating pad seems too warm on low, I got out my clamp light with a ceramic heat emitter, I'll put a thermometer in to monitor temp, and then go see where my sav-a-chick is.....

 

[SueT]

Well, I guess this guy doesn't belong in the Sebright thread! I plan to slip him back under mama maybe tonight? I will probably not be getting her any Sebright chicks after all. I don't want to complicate things with older chicks..

 

[Faraday40]

Well, I guess this guy doesn't belong in the Sebright thread! I plan to slip him back under mama maybe tonight? I will probably not be getting her any Sebright chicks after all. I don't want to complicate things with older chicks..
View attachment 1148028

It could have simply been an accident. When chicks 1st hatch, they don't move around a lot. They simply snuggle under mama & regain their strength. If the chick fell out of the nest & then crawled in the wrong direction, it could lead to tragedy. It was good luck that you found it when you did. Since mama's doing OK with the 2nd chick, you may want to add that little 1st chick sooner. It should stay under mama since it's still newly hatched. It would also solve your problem of the heating pad temp. The only thing that might make the hen uncomfortable is adding older chicks right now.

I still think you could add them in - but probably tomorrow night - after mama has adjusted to her new role. Make sure not to add more than she can cover or add a "mama heating pad" to supplement for the overflow chicks.

 

[SueT]

I went out to check on mama. The chick under her was making a lot of noise, and she stood up and I could see it. It is also black. The 3rd egg looked intact and she was pushing it back under.. The baby got out beside her and she was pecking at it gently until it went back under. I assume she was telling it to go back in? Maybe she was trying to get the first one back in too, she had been poking at it. It hadn't fallen out of the nest, it just wasn't under her. Anyway, it's quite perky now, I think it will be okay.

 

[SueT]

It could have simply been an accident. When chicks 1st hatch, they don't move around a lot. They simply snuggle under mama & regain their strength. If the chick fell out of the nest & then crawled in the wrong direction, it could lead to tragedy. It was good luck that you found it when you did. Since mama's doing OK with the 2nd chick, you may want to add that little 1st chick sooner. It should stay under mama since it's still newly hatched. It would also solve your problem of the heating pad temp. The only thing that might make the hen uncomfortable is adding older chicks right now.

I still think you could add them in - but probably tomorrow night - after mama has adjusted to her new role. Make sure not to add more than she can cover or add a "mama heating pad" to supplement for the overflow chicks.

Well, what happened, is I put the chick back under the mama. In the house, it was barely moving, and I thought it might help to be returned to the stimulation of the nest. Mama tucked it under her and settled in. But about 3 hours later, I went out and found it dead beside her. I assume it was that one, but they are both black. It had no visible injuries, perhaps it just couldn't make it. Perhaps that's why it was rejected in the first place. The other chick was active and walking well, but whenever it came out, mama pecked it and made it go back in. I searched threads and read that some hens do this. I could see when she stood up a bit to let the baby in, there's still an unhatched egg. There was a big difference between the active chick and the one I tried to rescue, I saw after I had put it back.