They hatched!!! supplemental heat?

[RobinS1217]

Theyre hatching!

We’re 3 years into chickens and finally got a broody momma who hatched out! So far 4/9 have hatched. It is 60-75 here during the day and 40-55 during the night. I have the momma (still sitting but doing well with her babies) and her chicks in a separated brooder coop. It’s wrapped in 2x4 with thin slits for ventilation with an “open air” lid enclosed with wire grid (mind is blanking on name of product).

Question: will momma keep them warm enough? We’ve had the heat lamp on at night because the babies don’t always stay under the mom who is still sitting on eggs. They seem to already come and go as they please on day 1&2.

Heat lamp? Or is momma sufficient?


(Photo with eggs/chicks is when momma was escorted to yard for 60 seconds to poo. She wasn’t leaving her nest to do so and it was a MESS. ended up having to cut her fluffy butt to clean her up. Manually helping her to hard and she poos and goes right back to babies)

 

[SilverBirds]

Congrats on the hatch! Momma is able to keep them warm enough without the heat lamp.

 

[Chickenmom1981]

Mom should be just fine as their heat source. It would be different if they were separate; but congratulations !

 

[bobbi-j]

You have what's called a "staggered hatch" going on. That happens when the eggs start incubating at different times. Typically, not all the eggs will hatch, because mama will get off the nest within 24-48 hours after the first eggs hatch. She will do that because when all the eggs start incubating at the same time, anything that's going to hatch will usually do so within that time frame. Something to consider in the future, (or even with your newest broody) is to give her all the eggs you want her to hatch at once, mark them, and daily remove any additions that show up. It may be helpful to have an incubator ready in case mama does abandon the nest with viable eggs still in it. But you may end up raising those babies yourself. Broodies don't always accept new chicks once they have left the nest with their babies. If you do try to give them to her, watch to make sure she doesn't attack them, and don't be surprised if she does.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If you allow a broody to hatch eggs it's best to give them all to her at one time. Take them daily from her until you have 12-16 to put under her at once. Use a marker to identify them and take away any extras she scrounges. This way they all hatch at the same time. Otherwise she'll eventually leave the nest to bring her chicks to feed abandoning the eggs added to the clutch later.

She'll keep them warm no problem. The only thing you need to watch for is chicks not able to get in and out of the coop easily for the first week.

 

[RobinS1217]

I put remaining 4 eggs under another broody bird whose only been sitting around 7 days. I marked them so will take them by Saturday if not hatched. I will try to take them once fluffy so momma#2 doesn’t abandon her own eggs. I’ll move those babies to the brooder with heat lamp with the one who hatched today whom I put with a hat mate for company and for her to teach her how to drink and eat by example. Momma hen clearly isn’t caring for today’s hatch. I have mom and 3 chicks in the yard during day and will bring them back to brooder with today’s hatchling and her hatchmate each night to try to maintain bond. At least until they’re old enough to be safe around momma.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Mama is essentially just returning to the nest at night to sleep with the hatched chicks. The eggs just happen to be in the nest. When a broody leaves the nest with hatched chicks, she's done "sitting", it may seem that she might be coming back to "sit" because she's on the nest, but that's her chosen spot to hunker with the chicks.

It's good the other one has hatched, hopefully the others will arrive shortly. I'd hate to see just a lone chick like that. Doesn't sound like Mama is interested and if that's the case, then she may decide to try to make the chick go away. Broodies sometimes do that.

Keep us posted on how it goes.

 

[RobinS1217]

Mama is essentially just returning to the nest at night to sleep with the hatched chicks. The eggs just happen to be in the nest. When a broody leaves the nest with hatched chicks, she's done "sitting", it may seem that she might be coming back to "sit" because she's on the nest, but that's her chosen spot to hunker with the chicks.

It's good the other one has hatched, hopefully the others will arrive shortly. I'd hate to see just a lone chick like that. Doesn't sound like Mama is interested and if that's the case, then she may decide to try to make the chick go away. Broodies sometimes do that.

Keep us posted on how it goes.

I’m allowing her to sit on them at night in the brooder- she accepted all 5. Hopefully it maintains somewhat of a bond of protection for when they join the older birds. No more hatches from the left 4 eggs that I put under our other broody bird. I’m not good at candling. Not sure what I’m looking at. We giving them until Saturday as that would’ve been a week from first hatch.

 

[SilverBirds]

Thanks for the reply! Definitely different than when we picked them up locally. Seeing the mom show them how to eat and the little noises she’s making for her babies is pretty cool. As I said, this is our first time letting any hatch out- and now we’ve had another gi broody, sitting on 8. Both our first momma and now second started with just 2-3 eggs and seemed to steel eggs from other nesting boxes for 4-5 days. Does that mean I should wait 4-5 days for these others to hatch? Is there a limit how long I should let her sit on them before I should assume a loss?

Over month is too long if she doesn't have anything hatching. You can candle the eggs on day 7-10 and look for veining. Any that are empty can be thrown out so they don't explode.

 

[RobinS1217]

Over month is too long if she doesn't have anything hatching. You can candle the eggs on day 7-10 and look for veining. Any that are empty can be thrown out so they don't explode.

I’ll candle the second broody bird. Far too late for our first one! A month from beginning of sitting?