What is "normal" after hatching?

[Isaiah53]

Maybe whoever can answer Isaiah53 will be able to help me as well. (Congrats Isaiah 53!!) My broody hen has been sitting on her eggs for 19 days. Lots of anticipation here. Once the chicks begin hatching, is there anything in particular that I need to do? I had it in mind to let them hatch, then move mama hen and chicks to an isolation pen that is all set and ready. I don't think she can stay where she is, since the chicks will just topple out of the laying box. Any advice is so very appreciated.

Dfalco, I am no expert, but I had a situation similar to yours. What I did was moved my eggs a week before they were due into a better and safer situation. My hen though, was great, I had no concerns she would abandon the nest. It could have happened I suppose, but it didn't. The risk is trying to move them after they've hatched, if it's cold and the mom deserts the nest do you have a brooder set up? That would be my concern. Me, I had an incubator ready to go and I also had a brooder set up in case the one that hatched was rejected after I moved the balance of the eggs (see below).

My situation was a bit different I was away and extra eggs had been laid (the person minding them overlooked them) and had been incubating for a while. I did not want to discard them so I moved everyone to a new nest in a pool and shut the nesting area from all the other hens (moved the nests to another place for them). When the first hatched I waited another day (hoping the others would hatch) then moved the rest to the incubator. It was risky but I did not want the hen to abandon the nest when they were due to hatch (within the week) nor did I want her to not feed the new chick on day 3 if I left them. I was also concerned she may just abandon the chick that had hatched if I meddled with the eggs so it's why I had a brooder set up too. It's been another 3 days and 2 more have hatched, and it looks like 3 more are pipping, so in this case I think it was the right call as mama is off the nest with her new baby but still sticking close to her hatchling. Have hope she may still take them under her wings though as she is still very protective. But, I'll see how it goes.

Let me know what you decide to do.

 

[Isaiah53]

Congrats! Yes it's normal. I would move it to the brooder provided the brooder is warm and show it water and food. Gently dip the tip of it's beak in each.

So I did that and it's looking good. Just added another hatchling from last night. I think 3 or 4 more to go!

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

So I did that and it's looking good. Just added another hatchling from last night. I think 3 or 4 more to go!

Oh good! I'm glad it's working out well!
I hope the others do well too!

 

[dfalco]

My sweet broody, Lillie Maude, has her first hatchling!

I expect others to hatch in a day or so, as I had counted hatch day to be tomorrow.

Watching closely to see how things go. I do have a brooder if needed. I'm hoping Lillie Maude can handle things.

I will move her and any hatchlings to a small coop/run by day three, if that is when y'all think she will be feeding her littles and abandon unhatched eggs.

My biggest concern is that the babies will fall from the nest and not be able to get back in. Watching closely.

By the way, this chick hatched from a white egg, which makes it from my one and only black leghorn. That means it is a black leghorn/birchen cochen cross. I'm SO EXCITED!! Since 1999 I've dreamed of managing a sustaining flock!

 

[Isaiah53]

My sweet broody, Lillie Maude, has her first hatchling!

I expect others to hatch in a day or so, as I had counted hatch day to be tomorrow.

Watching closely to see how things go. I do have a brooder if needed. I'm hoping Lillie Maude can handle things.

I will move her and any hatchlings to a small coop/run by day three, if that is when y'all think she will be feeding her littles and abandon unhatched eggs.

My biggest concern is that the babies will fall from the nest and not be able to get back in. Watching closely.

By the way, this chick hatched from a white egg, which makes it from my one and only black leghorn. That means it is a black leghorn/birchen cochen cross. I'm SO EXCITED!! Since 1999 I've dreamed of managing a sustaining flock!View attachment 1345683

Congratulations on your new addition. It's kinda fun, eh?

When all of the eggs hatch then you should move them to someplace safer. I presume they should all hatch around the same time, unlike mine.

Best of everything to you!

 

[dfalco]

Congratulations on your new addition. It's kinda fun, eh?

When all of the eggs hatch then you should move them to someplace safer. I presume they should all hatch around the same time, unlike mine.

Best of everything to you!

Thank you! Yes, I is LOADS of fun!

When I finally realized that Lillie was indeed brooding, I slipped a few more eggs, from another nest, under her. Of the first 4 eggs she was sitting on, we had that first hatchling. Today, quite a few of the dozen or so I placed under her are hatching. Undaunted, she has continued to sit that nest like a pro,the first little chick sticking close, playing in and out from under her. Fearing to move her and fearing the little guy would fall, i built a makeshift "crib" around her and placed chick feed and water with them. All is going great. As far as that little chick knows, her mom is the whole world. I hope to post pics of the whole brood, maybe tomorrow. I'm letting Lillie Maude have her privacy for now. She is quite expert at this, I'm convinced, and amazed.View attachment 1349943

 

[dfalco]

Lillie is doing great! Eggs are still hatching. So far we are up to 8. I'm AMAZED! She's never done this before, never seen it done, and yet she knows exactly how to do this amazing thing. WOW.

 

[Isaiah53]

Lillie is doing great! Eggs are still hatching. So far we are up to 8. I'm AMAZED! She's never done this before, never seen it done, and yet she knows exactly how to do this amazing thing. WOW.View attachment 1351817

That's awesome. I just brought the last 5 of my 8 chicks up to my mama hen. She took them in no questions asked even though the first was born 11 days ago and the last 4 days ago so 1 week difference. All but one were healthy. There was one that had a splayed leg, so I hobbled it for 2.5 days and now he's 6 days old and can keep up with the rest of them. I'll check in on them in a couple hours and see how they are doing, make sure mama didn't decide to reject them.

 

[dfalco]

That's awesome. I just brought the last 5 of my 8 chicks up to my mama hen. She took them in no questions asked even though the first was born 11 days ago and the last 4 days ago so 1 week difference. All but one were healthy. There was one that had a splayed leg, so I hobbled it for 2.5 days and now he's 6 days old and can keep up with the rest of them. I'll check in on them in a couple hours and see how they are doing, make sure mama didn't decide to reject them.

That's WONDERFUL!

 

[3riverschick]

an answer to the first part of your question. what is normal for a newly hatched chick? let's talk for a minute about the physiology of the newly hatched chick. on day 17 and a half of incubation the embryo opens its mouth and starts to drink the amniotic fluid. this is because other nutrition available to it has been depleted to a point where it's of no help. when the chick hatches ,it does have a yolk Sac which is biologically reserved for development of the muscles and the GI tract, and thus the immune system . So we see that from an energy standpoint, the chick is needy when it hatches.
it is important for us to get nutrition into the chick as soon as possible. the GI tract undergoes tremendous development the first 7 Days of a chick's life. the sooner we can supplement the GI tract and help it mature as properly as possible the more it will positively affect the chicks health for the rest of its life.
The chick has several challenges to overcome upon hatching. it must learn how to digest carbohydrates in the feed. it must rapidly establish proper microbiome in the GI tract so that harmful pathogens don't become established there. it must adjust to the new outside environment in which it is placed.
The place to intervene to help the chick in these three challenges is the development of the GI tract . this is where we can give the chick an advantage in life . The proper and Rapid proper development of the GI tract and its biome affects all body systems especially the immune system, which is very important to the baby chick.
So how can we help? first of all, we can we can make sure that the chick receives food early so it does not use the yolk Sac for energy purposes.
We can use a nutritional supplement for the chick. it should be one which does not stress the development of the GI tract but instead enhances it.
Bovidr Labs Poultry Nutridrench is such a supplement because it does not need to be digested . it mainlines directly into the bloodstream . All natural.
given orally at the rate of one drop per chick.For needy chicks, repeated every 8 to 10 hours as needed until the chick is perky.
This supplement will give the chicks extra nutrition, enzymes, and vitamins needed the jump start the GI tract and to help restore any neediness in the immune system. A quality probiotic given orally is also a great idea as it will help establish proper biome in the GI tract.
So this is what you can do to have a robust, perky newly hatched chick. Poultry Nutridrench for nutrition and quick energy. a quality probiotic given orally to help establish a proper biome in the GI tract. quality Heat so the chick is at a proper temperature. and fresh water.
Do not bother with chick grit until the chick is 7 days old.
Http://www.nutridrench.com
As an addendum, Drench water grows nice healthy, robust chicks. if you wish, you can add one and a half teaspoons of Nutridrench per quart of water for the first two weeks of life. there's no need for electrolytes or apple cider vinegar in the water or any other supplement . Just Drench water, a quality chick feed , quality oral probiotic, fresh water , and chick grit after 7 days old
Best,
Karen