Ok so I have a ton of questions!! This is our first set of naturally grown and raised baby chicks.
#1: Can I leave our newly hatched babies in the coop with the rest of our flock? We have 7 hens and 1 rooster that is bosses around by the hens LOL! So far the momma hen seems to be protecting the babies and pecks the others if they come close. The other 7 including the rooster seem very afraid of the momma and are staying away from the babies so far.
#2: 4 of the eggs have hatched and there are still 3 more that haven't. She seems to be leaving the unhatched eggs and going with the babies but I candled the unhatched eggs and there are still chickes in them. Since these are her 1st babies is she going to abandon the unhatched eggs and let them die?
#3: Should I make her lay on the unhatched eggs? I have been making her lay on them along with her babies for the last 24 hours but is this ok? I think she views me as dominant and is very good about me checking the eggs and the babies.
#4: One of the eggs had a crack in it and the fluid coming out of it smelled bad! Not like the other babies that had hatched but like something rotten! So I candled it and there was a baby chick but no movement. I cracked it open and it smelled awful! There was a fully grown baby chick but it wasn't alive? Why would it be dead and smell rotten?
Thank you for any and all input!! This is our first set of babies laid by our hens and we kind of don't know what to expect.
#1: Can I leave our newly hatched babies in the coop with the rest of our flock? We have 7 hens and 1 rooster that is bosses around by the hens LOL! So far the momma hen seems to be protecting the babies and pecks the others if they come close. The other 7 including the rooster seem very afraid of the momma and are staying away from the babies so far.
#2: 4 of the eggs have hatched and there are still 3 more that haven't. She seems to be leaving the unhatched eggs and going with the babies but I candled the unhatched eggs and there are still chickes in them. Since these are her 1st babies is she going to abandon the unhatched eggs and let them die?
#3: Should I make her lay on the unhatched eggs? I have been making her lay on them along with her babies for the last 24 hours but is this ok? I think she views me as dominant and is very good about me checking the eggs and the babies.
#4: One of the eggs had a crack in it and the fluid coming out of it smelled bad! Not like the other babies that had hatched but like something rotten! So I candled it and there was a baby chick but no movement. I cracked it open and it smelled awful! There was a fully grown baby chick but it wasn't alive? Why would it be dead and smell rotten?
Thank you for any and all input!! This is our first set of babies laid by our hens and we kind of don't know what to expect.