We have chicks! Now what do we do?

[Trio]

My lovely little silkie has hatched out 3 little chicks so far, another egg has a pip, and no action on the last two. How long do I give the last eggs? How long can chicks go without food, if the mum stays sitting?
Also they are in a run with a rooster and another hen, should they be okay?
Thanks for your help!

 

[Tasha1981]

Mama will protect her chicks. The chicks are good for about 3 days with the yolk sack. You need to candle the 2 and if necessary, toss them. The one that has pipped should be out shortly.

I would personally keep an eye on the chicks when possible, but mama hens are usually great protectors of their young. Even with a big, bad rooster or a bossy hen.

 

[trailrider330]

Congrats!

Do you know for sure that all of the eggs were set at the same time? Could a couple have been laid in with the others after the hen already started sitting on them? Sometimes other hens will sneak an extra egg in resulting in a staggered hatch. I would give them all a few more days if mama hen is willing to sit that long. Candling the other eggs to make sure they are viable is a good idea though. If they are no good you can take them away after the pipped egg hatches so mama can tend to her new chicks.

Depending on your set up, if mama hen is stuck on the eggs, she will have a harder time protecting them once the chicks start moving around. Hence, you might want to consider segregating them from the other birds. This is typically what I do, at least for the first couple weeks. In the meantime, you can also set out some chick starter and make sure to add pebbles into the water so the new chicks can not drown.

Good luck!

 

[Shawna1969]

I just had my first chick hatch on Wed (2 days ago) and I have never done this before.. I have a few questions if someone can help me please. I am super excited about this

1) Mom is still sitting on 6 eggs.. I have no clue how long she has been sitting on them, but we did make a separate coop for her and took her entire bedding out with the eggs so she is separate from the rest of the other chickens I have. I went and bought some chick start (medicated) and put that in there yesterday. She is chowing it.. is that okay? I tried to put some regular food in there for her, right next to her but the 1 chick is eating it and that scared me a little bit. Will mom be fine to eat that medicated chick start while she is still sitting on the other eggs?

2) How long do I keep her on these eggs? I am assuming it hasn't been all that long since she started sitting.. Maybe a few weeks or so. She gets agitated when you try to see if anymore chicks are under her.

3) Water.. I have a water source in the coop, however I am concerned that she won't get off her eggs to drink it.. I have heard that they are fine while they are sitting on eggs but I just want to make sure.

4) We have a red heat light on her and the chicks right now. If she gets too hot, will she move her nest? I just want to make sure that I am not blowing her out of there as it's difficult to learn how to moderate a temperature when you have never done this before.

Thank you,

 

[junebuggena]

1. Mom will be fine eating medicated chick feed. It's got a thiamin blocker in it, not an antibiotic or anything like that. The higher protein content will be good for her after being broody.
2. Candle any eggs left after 48 hours from the first hatch. Anything that doesn't look close to hatching should be removed. She should get up and lead the hatched chicks to food and water in a few days. Just leave her be. She knew how to incubate and hatch healthy chicks, and she'll know what to do to take care of them.
3. She'll be fine.
4. You don't need a heat lamp. The hen will keep the chicks warm.

 

[Shawna1969]

Awesome! Thank you so much.. I really appreciate your help..

 

[Trio]

Thanks!
I was pretty cluey and marked all the eggs she was sitting on. I put some polish eggs underneath her and marked the day on the calander. So it shouldn't be a staggered hatch. Great tip about the water!

 

[Trio]

Eeekk! Another one has pipped!