Broody Hen with Water Belly

[saving grace]

Five of the chicks hatched in the night! They're the fluffiest little guys and so healthy. There's one BO, three orpington x australorp, and one andalusion x orpington.

One still hasn't pipped and I can't see any movement. Here's to hoping it hatches soon!

Mom is doing great, though her crop is still massive.

I will send some pics later.

 

[LaFleche]

Congratulations!

 

[saving grace]

So, the egg still hasn't hatched and mom isn't sitting on it anymore since she's busy with the other chicks.

I brought it inside and candled it. I can see the chick just barely, but can't see any movement at all. No sounds either.

I don't want to give up on it just yet, but I'm scared that even if the chick is alive it will get shrinkwrapped. Any advice?

 

[saving grace]

Update: after candling again I concluded the chick was definitely dead. I opened it up to see if I could figure out how far along it was.

It had pipped internally but hadn't fully absorbed the yolk.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Congratulations on the new babies!

 

[LaFleche]

Update: after candling again I concluded the chick was definitely dead. I opened it up to see if I could figure out how far along it was.

It had pipped internally but hadn't fully absorbed the yolk.

Sadly, they don't all always make it. That's nature's way to select the fittest.

Enjoy the healthy ones that hatched!

 

[Cj Tracker]

This is exactly what's wrong with my girl who just hatched one yesterday.. one never seen this either and have had many broody hens who hatched including her. I see this post was a few weeks ago is she good now? I know they neglect themselves so I do feed them blueberries and some flock feed with yogurt, which she ate earlier

As she is a broody sitting on a nest, she will not defecate during the night and the crop takes much longer to empty than with non broody chickens.

How often does she get off the nest to eat, drink, poop and dustbathe?

Some broodies take daily breaks and will not stuff their crops, others will take a break only after 3-4 consecutive days on the nest and will have their crops filled accordingly, leaving enormous stinky turds when finally getting the chance to rid themselves of the accumulated waste.

As long as she leaves appropriate amounts of waste each time she gets off the nest, I would not worry and not treat for crop impaction.

 

[saving grace]

This is exactly what's wrong with my girl who just hatched one yesterday.. one never seen this either and have had many broody hens who hatched including her. I see this post was a few weeks ago is she good now? I know they neglect themselves so I do feed them blueberries and some flock feed with yogurt, which she ate earlier

The broody hen was completely fine, thankfully. It was simply that her crop was very full. She raised all five of her chicks successfully!

Sadly, a little while after she started laying again, her back toe got severely infected and swollen. I did surgery on it twice, but it was too late and was spreading to her entire foot. I knew I didn't have the experience to eradicate the infection, and chose to put her out of her misery instead. I had too many chickens die this year, and it's always hard.

I hope your girl is okay. Let me know how she fares!