KEep supplementing and before you give the bottle, encourage attachment to mom. If you are new to sheep/goats besure both sides are getting milked. Eventually each baby will pick one side, so checking the mom often will tell you who is not drinking (maybe sick) and help mom prevent mastitis. PM me if you have questions.
Aww Fred you are a sweetie!
I went to a feed store here in town today. They had just gotten a shipment of chicks/ducks in today. Of course, I have to look. There was a little duck on it's back having a hard time. At first I thought it was just stuck like that, but it was dieing. I asked if I could have it to take home and try to bring it along. I gave it some electrolytes, knowing that this would either help it, or help it go faster. That stuff can be a shock to them when they are close to death. So far, it's still breathing. Can anyone tell me what kind of duck this is? I can't keep a duck, but I couldn't leave it there, the others were just trampling all over it..which is what I think happened all the way to the store. Crossing fingers for it..I'm sure I can find someone that will take it if it lives.
At least it isn't being trampled on now. It can rest in peace. Or go in peace.
Aww Sorry it passed. It certainly passed with love and kindess.
I wanted to share a picture of my broody blue ameraucana with her BLRW chick
I hope two of mine are like this!
Nice broody photos..anyone ever have a double broody..as in two broody hens at once?
Nothing like sharing.
I can leave my head hen in her chosen nest box and none of the other hens bother her or her babies. But I had a low on the pecking order Lav AM hen go broody last year. She got off her nest any time another hen wanted to lay in there. I have 6 nest boxes so they had plenty of other places to lay but wanted to add to Gidget's eggs. I clearly marked her eggs so it was easy to remove the newly laid eggs. The problem that I had was at hatch time. One hatching egg totally disappeared and another newly hatched chick also disappeared. I was disappointed that Gidget didn't protect her babies but decided that motherhood was not for her. I removed the final chick and put it in the brooder with the chicks that hatched in the incubator. She has not gone broody since then, thankfully! Since then, I have successfully moved two broodies from the nest boxes to a nest box in a secure, enclosed outdoor brooder area. I waited until it was almost time for them to hatch. I have also used a medium sized dog kennel placed in the coop. The door can be shut at hatch time to protect the chicks.Last year, I had two broodies sitting together, and one of them pecked and broke several eggs. Only three chicks hatched and only one mom was any good.
Right now, I have two hens that are broodie. I tried taking the more aggressive one and isolated her so I could put eggs under her. She escaped from what I thought was a very nice cozy nesting area. I don't want to leave her in the regular nesting boxes because the other hens go in and lay eggs in there. It is a chore to sort out the old eggs (marked X) and the new ones. The boxes are two feet off the ground, also, so baby birds could fall out and mom would not be able to get them back in. Has anyone suggestions for how to rehome a broodie hen, and still keep her in the mood for setting?
