why did my baby die?

[rabbott]

i'm pretty new to this... i have a silky that was sitting with 1 egg.... yesterday was hatching day!! sure enough one cute little baby was there when i got up yesterday
i did pick up the baby a few times yesterday.. and i moved mom and baby to a clean box (3'x2') and put a water & feeder in for mom at one end and the other side fresh saw dust down for mom and baby.... this morning i went tocheck on them and found mom pacing and baby laying by the waterer looking half dead... thought maybe was cold and stiff... brought in the house and got it under a heat lamp /prayed/ nudged a bit and it started breathing better, chirping a bit... really seamed to be coming back to life! came back in 10 min to check on and was gone could it have drown? would it have even tried to get to water and food at 1 day old?? or did i do a bad thing by handling?
totally heart broken...

 

[AngelaPenny]

Aww....that's a tough thing to go through. I'm sorry.

I think you did a great job trying to save the little one, but sometimes there are circumstances beyond our control. Loving creatures comes at a large cost to our hearts when nature intervenes.

 

[tgblldog70]

did you put stones or pebbles in the water dish? that is supposed to help prevent drowning, and from what I have read they may drink and eat. sorry for your loss your hen will lay another and it will be successful.

 

[Hawkeye95]

i'm pretty new to this... i have a silky that was sitting with 1 egg.... yesterday was hatching day!! sure enough one cute little baby was there when i got up yesterday
i did pick up the baby a few times yesterday.. and i moved mom and baby to a clean box (3'x2') and put a water & feeder in for mom at one end and the other side fresh saw dust down for mom and baby.... this morning i went tocheck on them and found mom pacing and baby laying by the waterer looking half dead... thought maybe was cold and stiff... brought in the house and got it under a heat lamp /prayed/ nudged a bit and it started breathing better, chirping a bit... really seamed to be coming back to life! came back in 10 min to check on and was gone could it have drown? would it have even tried to get to water and food at 1 day old?? or did i do a bad thing by handling?
totally heart broken...

I've had baby poults (turkeys) die like that. It's usually drowning-- especially since you found the baby next to the water. I highly doubt it is because you handled the baby. I'm sure that was fine. It's a tough call since mama needs the water, too. But next time, throw in a bunch of glass pebbles or little rocks.

 

[rabbott]

thanks guys... after i post this i started reading about the marbles/pebble... neverheard of that before! and i've have numerous peeps and have never experienced/heard of that... this was my first chicken to lay/sit (usually get rid of the roosters) that helps to get some knowlege, but hurts a little more thinking i could have prevented it! ok one last question... what about the hen? she seems lost and wanting to sit again... but has she even eaten in 21 days? and i know she has breed... and now the rooster seems really uninterested in her.... just leave it alone? or maybe give her another egg from some other one?

 

[aaggjg]

I am new at this too but if she has lost a lot of weight you don't really want her to sit any longer... if you were to "give" her an egg to sit on you could put a baby in there after a day since she has been sitting?? and hope she will adopt it ....

 

[littlels]

I have never done it personally, but I have A LOT of people who buy day old (or soon there after) chicks to put under their broody hen or to replace some chicks that don't make it for whatever reason just like yours. I have done a little research about it and I found that "they" say that if the chick that you place under her is days old or less, the hen will frequently adopt it. Maybe someone with more experience knows more, but that's just what I've found.

Good luck!

 

[hdowden]

i would just put her back with the flock. shes been eating even though she sat on an egg they have to get up to eat drink and poo if not they would more than likly die

 

[rabbott]

wish i had a another peep to give to her... she is so upset... me too
i'm sure she has eaten, but not much... i kept taking her off her nest and putting out with the flock, she's ate a bit but soon back to her nest... and sitting on someone elses egg.... i guess it is best to pull the egg from her becuse i'm not even sure its fertalized... maybe i'll wait a bit to let her sit again