thanks everyone for the ideas - I've trained chicks I've brooded, but broody-raised chicks....not so much. If I try to give them a treat they go running.
Good news, that little baby chick survived AND found his/her way back to the run. It has wing feathers, and a teeny tail, but just down on the back, head, neck, belly. Chick reunited with mom - she stayed in the coop for a couple hours with her babies tucked under her, as did the other broody mama - they thought it was too cold to take the chicks out, so the little one ran around for a couple hours in the run making distress calls. One hen followed it everywhere for a while but the chick did not approach the hen, and the hen stayed a few feet away.
Tonight, the one mama tried again to get her babies to roost up on a med high roost, but they had no interest. When she gave up and went to the highest roost, I took her and put her in the pen with the babies, who were getting chilled. They beelined under her.
The broody that lost her chick last night took care this time to make sure all three were in, even though it took her multiple tries. That one chick just had a really hard time figuring out how to follow her.
Ok, question on the broody hen, Amelia, with the dead chick. About midday, she was off the nest and pacing. I let her out, and she stayed out all day. I took her eggs which were still warm and popped them under another hen that had just gone broody. By late afternoon, that broody had broken one open (nothing had developed), and had kicked the other egg out.
At roost time, Amelia flew back into the cupboard that was her broody nest. Now what? should I just break her broodiness?
Good news, that little baby chick survived AND found his/her way back to the run. It has wing feathers, and a teeny tail, but just down on the back, head, neck, belly. Chick reunited with mom - she stayed in the coop for a couple hours with her babies tucked under her, as did the other broody mama - they thought it was too cold to take the chicks out, so the little one ran around for a couple hours in the run making distress calls. One hen followed it everywhere for a while but the chick did not approach the hen, and the hen stayed a few feet away.
Tonight, the one mama tried again to get her babies to roost up on a med high roost, but they had no interest. When she gave up and went to the highest roost, I took her and put her in the pen with the babies, who were getting chilled. They beelined under her.
The broody that lost her chick last night took care this time to make sure all three were in, even though it took her multiple tries. That one chick just had a really hard time figuring out how to follow her.
Ok, question on the broody hen, Amelia, with the dead chick. About midday, she was off the nest and pacing. I let her out, and she stayed out all day. I took her eggs which were still warm and popped them under another hen that had just gone broody. By late afternoon, that broody had broken one open (nothing had developed), and had kicked the other egg out.
At roost time, Amelia flew back into the cupboard that was her broody nest. Now what? should I just break her broodiness?
