UPDATE...Ok so I'm letting my broody sit. I have some questions...

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I've just met THE WORST mother hen of all time! It had to be MINE! UGH Well the chicks started hatching yesterday and the hens were eating them as they hatched! It was horrible. They are quick! I then heard another cheep so I run into the hen house and she is quickly going ballistic on the Mille Fleur egg that was zipping. She ripped it open and tried eating it! I grabbed it away and ran it to the house and put it right in the incubator. It didn't look well and was bleeding on the back. I went back down to the hen house and grabbed the remaining two eggs under her. She started with eight! I just thought she was eating the "bad" eggs! I feel terrible! She didn't even try to protect them from the others either

Right now I have TWO babies hatched and the one that I rescued is doing super! I cleaned her/his wound and it's very active now running around with it's EE/cochin mix buddy. They are just adorable! The last egg is pipped and chirping away. I don't know how long it's been pipped but I sure hope it's able to hatch after opening the bator up to get the other babies out and under a heat lamp. The humidity is back up to 60 % now. It had been down to 35.
I guess this goes to show that you really have to watch who your mother hen is. Surely NOT a sex link apparently. She was a WONDERFUL broody though! Just perfect! Don't know what happened

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

All three remaining eggs have hatched and are doing GREAT! They are strong! Stronger then any others I have ever hatched out. Not sure if it's becasue there was NO tossing through the po or because I allowed a hen to incubate them LOL So I have two mixes and one mille fleur that I saved from my cannibals! Pictures to come later have to upload them.

 

[PortageGirl]

That's a rotten thing to have happen,

. I guess I'm lucky... I think if you have one good mamma who protects her chicks properly, as well as from other hens, then they all get used to what chicks actually are, and are used to having them around, others know they aren't some kind of alien lunch item. I don't know for sure, I just know that I've had really good mammas so I know it's possible... errr, well duh, of course it's possible or the whole chicken species would be dead, but you know what I mean. I guess I have been lucky with my first few clutches (hehe, 40 years ago!) and my hens have carried on ever since!

I'm glad you rescued some anyway!

 

[basicliving]

Oh my gosh! That is awful! Thank goodness you were there!

I ended up building two wire pens in my coop after my two broodies had babies underneath them. I'm keeping them in there for a couple of weeks so they can see the other hens/roos - and the hens/roos can get used to seeing them. I'm hoping things will go well when I let them out. I really don't like keeping them penned up, but I'm worried about how the other hens and roos will act with the babies. After reading your post, I'm glad I've got them penned! Right now the babies are only nine days old.

I hope the babies you saved flourish and do well. I'm so sorry all this happened

ETA: The mama wasn't the one eating the babies and pecking eggs was she? If not, could you put her in the brooder with her babies? Or perhaps build her a pen in the coop for her and the babies? Or a dog cage, or something? Just a thought.

Penny

 

[PortageGirl]

Quote:
Yes, from what it says, it was mamma.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Oh yes she sure was...and she was also sharing them with the others

I was so hoping to watch some cuteness but it was the total opposite. Oh well, my last egg hatched and we now have THREE very strong babies that have been saved by the meanies in the hen house. Next time I'm going with the silkie mama for sure! Oh and my cat (all 18 lbs of him)...well he really loves them. He lays in the box with them!

I took him out just in case he changed his mine about being "full" and wanted lunch. Scared the crap outta me though! The chicks were enjoying his company

I think my cat really likes the heat light!

 

[basicliving]

Quote:
Now that I re-read your initial post about it, I can see you were talking about the mama eating the chicks. I must have just blocked that totally out. I would be mortified. That is just so incredibly horrible. I just can't get over it. As I said - thank heavens you were around when they started hatching.

 

[karen71]

I'd like to see a picture of the cat with the chicks-too cute.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Now that I re-read your initial post about it, I can see you were talking about the mama eating the chicks. I must have just blocked that totally out.

I've done this before! LOL It was horrible to see...just goes totally against what was meant to be. She was a sex link hen and maybe she just didn't have it in her. ALTHOUGH when I was trying to break her boodiness afterwards she was doing a call like the rooster does and all the hens came over to her. She was feeing them!

She is still doing this so I'm pretty sure she need counselling!​

 

[warmfuzzies]

That is so strange and horrible.... I am worried now, i have a broody too! At least you got some of them.