Hi Everyone,
My broody hen has successfully hatched and reared one chick out of a clutch of six eggs. The chick is now five weeks old. The day after the existing chick hatched, a second egg began the hatching process and was partially out of the egg when the mother pooped on it. This is how I found the dead chick. I'm puzzled as to why this happened. Did she do it accidentally? or was it a wilful act. None of the other eggs hatched. Can anyone enlighten me?
(My hen - despite being a hybrid becomes broody so regularly I decided to indulge her as she nearly died last year from not eating and drinking enough. She is a very determined setter, so I decided to get her some fertile eggs from a nearby farm - despite none of the other eggs hatching, she continued to sit on them way after 21 days. I finally removed the eggs on day 30 so that she would start to teach her hatchling how to forage etc)
Thanks in advance for any help.
Suze
My broody hen has successfully hatched and reared one chick out of a clutch of six eggs. The chick is now five weeks old. The day after the existing chick hatched, a second egg began the hatching process and was partially out of the egg when the mother pooped on it. This is how I found the dead chick. I'm puzzled as to why this happened. Did she do it accidentally? or was it a wilful act. None of the other eggs hatched. Can anyone enlighten me?
(My hen - despite being a hybrid becomes broody so regularly I decided to indulge her as she nearly died last year from not eating and drinking enough. She is a very determined setter, so I decided to get her some fertile eggs from a nearby farm - despite none of the other eggs hatching, she continued to sit on them way after 21 days. I finally removed the eggs on day 30 so that she would start to teach her hatchling how to forage etc)
Thanks in advance for any help.
Suze
