Okay so, I have a first-time broody hen who had a difficult hatch. 2 chicks out of 7 viable eggs hatched, 1 is vigorous and 1 is on the verge of dying.
I want to make sure the vigorous chick survives. Mama hen does too. The problem is, I don't think she's feeding him enough.
See, she wants to teach her chick to free-range. But I can't free-range my birds (too risky with predators outside) and the main covered run is currently wet with water from melted snow. The rest of the flock is also using that run until the uncovered one gets freed of snow, which won't happen before May at the very least. The broody area I've given my hen to raise her chick isn't connected to any doors leading outside, and she's got pine shavings for bedding.
When the chick cries for food, mama hen takes him foraging in the pine shavings. She digs and digs and digs and basically just feeds him pine shaving bits. I've got the water and feeder all set up on a little bench with a ramp the chick can easily climb to get to the food, but three quarters of the time when the chick is hungry mama hen feeds him pine shavings instead of chick feed. The only time they both eat chick feed is when mama hen is thirsty, and those drinking times are too short for me to think they're really eating to their fill while on the bench.
Any ideas what I can do to make my broody understand that if she wants food for her chick she has to go fetch it in the feeding bowl instead of in the bedding? How do people fare with their broody hens when they're isolated and raising their chicks in pine shavings??
I want to make sure the vigorous chick survives. Mama hen does too. The problem is, I don't think she's feeding him enough.
See, she wants to teach her chick to free-range. But I can't free-range my birds (too risky with predators outside) and the main covered run is currently wet with water from melted snow. The rest of the flock is also using that run until the uncovered one gets freed of snow, which won't happen before May at the very least. The broody area I've given my hen to raise her chick isn't connected to any doors leading outside, and she's got pine shavings for bedding.
When the chick cries for food, mama hen takes him foraging in the pine shavings. She digs and digs and digs and basically just feeds him pine shaving bits. I've got the water and feeder all set up on a little bench with a ramp the chick can easily climb to get to the food, but three quarters of the time when the chick is hungry mama hen feeds him pine shavings instead of chick feed. The only time they both eat chick feed is when mama hen is thirsty, and those drinking times are too short for me to think they're really eating to their fill while on the bench.
Any ideas what I can do to make my broody understand that if she wants food for her chick she has to go fetch it in the feeding bowl instead of in the bedding? How do people fare with their broody hens when they're isolated and raising their chicks in pine shavings??
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