I've had a really disheartening hatch and would love some advice and insight as to what went wrong. I have two main questions, really.
First, did I have a "bad" broody or was it just too darn hot and dry to hatch properly. She had 10 eggs and only 2 hatched into healthy chicks. 1 hatched but was deformed (I had to put her down). And, that's it. 3 eggs I know for sure were rotten, although all were fertile and had developed to some degree. The other 4 I think started to hatch, but the chicks didn't make it (more on that later). It has been between 90 and 100+ degrees throughout the entire brood, with temps spiking over 100 on day 21. Very dry (humidity 8 to 15%). Was she a bad broody and didn't turn the eggs right, etc., or would even a great mother have struggled with these temperatures? She seems perfectly fine with the 2 live chicks, and was gentle with and tried to care to the deformed one as well.
Second, would a broody eat a chick and shell if it died during the hatch? Today (end of day 22), I cleaned out her nest to remove what I could smell were rotten eggs. Earlier in the day, I had also noticed a partially hatched egg in the nest that obviously had a dead chick sticking out of it. I expected to find that egg or maybe a dead chick under her. But no; it had vanished into thin air. I only found 3 eggs. 4 eggs were simply gone -- no shells, no dead chicks, no feathers, no blood. Nothing. I know for certain she went into day 20 with 10 eggs under her. I've spent a fair amount of the time in the coop lately -- setting out ice, refreshing water, looking for heat-stroke, watching mom to make sure she was ok with her chicks and I never anything amiss. Although she is in the main coop, no other chickens have gone anywhere near her nest; in fact they even stopped using the nesting boxes next to her. I really don't think another chicken snuck into her nest and ate eggs from out under her. I think she must have ate them herself. Is this normal? I could see her not wanting rotting, dead chicks in her nest.
I'm baffled and wondering if this broody is off. She hasn't tried to harm the 2 chicks that I can see.
First, did I have a "bad" broody or was it just too darn hot and dry to hatch properly. She had 10 eggs and only 2 hatched into healthy chicks. 1 hatched but was deformed (I had to put her down). And, that's it. 3 eggs I know for sure were rotten, although all were fertile and had developed to some degree. The other 4 I think started to hatch, but the chicks didn't make it (more on that later). It has been between 90 and 100+ degrees throughout the entire brood, with temps spiking over 100 on day 21. Very dry (humidity 8 to 15%). Was she a bad broody and didn't turn the eggs right, etc., or would even a great mother have struggled with these temperatures? She seems perfectly fine with the 2 live chicks, and was gentle with and tried to care to the deformed one as well.
Second, would a broody eat a chick and shell if it died during the hatch? Today (end of day 22), I cleaned out her nest to remove what I could smell were rotten eggs. Earlier in the day, I had also noticed a partially hatched egg in the nest that obviously had a dead chick sticking out of it. I expected to find that egg or maybe a dead chick under her. But no; it had vanished into thin air. I only found 3 eggs. 4 eggs were simply gone -- no shells, no dead chicks, no feathers, no blood. Nothing. I know for certain she went into day 20 with 10 eggs under her. I've spent a fair amount of the time in the coop lately -- setting out ice, refreshing water, looking for heat-stroke, watching mom to make sure she was ok with her chicks and I never anything amiss. Although she is in the main coop, no other chickens have gone anywhere near her nest; in fact they even stopped using the nesting boxes next to her. I really don't think another chicken snuck into her nest and ate eggs from out under her. I think she must have ate them herself. Is this normal? I could see her not wanting rotting, dead chicks in her nest.
I'm baffled and wondering if this broody is off. She hasn't tried to harm the 2 chicks that I can see.