Mother hen not showing baby food dish

[Frazzled chicken tender]

My d'uccle hatched one egg and she is teaching the little one to scratch in the ground for food. Which is fine but she is ignoring the feed dish with starter crumbles. And there isn't anything in the dirt to eat really because i have them in the run and the rest of the flock are out foraging. The dirt in the run doesn't have seeds or bugs in it. I did give them some scambled egg and she fed the baby some of that. Should i scatter food all over the ground instead? Another issue is the baby is really tiny and can't eat the starter crumbles yet. She also isn't leading the little one to the water dispenser. Thank you for any advice!

 

[sourland]

Make the feed and water more accessible to the chick - however you can.

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

Make the feed and water more accessible to the chick - however you can.

Thank you! I keep scooting it closer to them each time i go out there.

 

[sourland]

It may be necessary to scatter a bit of the feed on the ground.

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

It may be necessary to scatter a bit of the feed on the ground.

Thank you! I've started doing that.

 

[Ridgerunner]

One of the first things my broody hens do is take their chicks to a spot where they can peck at the dirt. They get grit that way. They eat a bit of dirt, it has minerals in it. There could be bits of dried vegetation in it, bits of grass, weeds, or such but that's not so much what the mother is after. The chick should not eat a lot of that but there is nothing unusual about the hen taking her chicks to peck at dirt.

Some of those crumble pieces should be small enough for that chick to eat. But you can put some crumble in a blender or food processor and grind it up some more. Don't take it all the way to powder, they seem to eat it better if it is in bits instead of ground to a powder.

Can you post photos of the feeder and the waterer? Some of that is curiosity but I'd like to know what you are working with. What style are you using and how is it presented to the chick and hen.

Is that chick telling the world that it is hungry or thirsty? Is it giving a loud steady plaintive peep? If you hear it you will know that the chick is not happy just from the way it sounds, it can tear your heart out. If you are not hearing that peep it is not yet hungry or thirsty.

You may not have food or water where the hen is used to finding it. It usually doesn't take long for my broody hens to find the feed and water for their chicks, they soon learn to take their chicks there. But I give my broody hens with chicks the option to take them out foraging. After a morning fill-up they spend practically all day out with the chicks foraging for a lot of what they eat.

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

One of the first things my broody hens do is take their chicks to a spot where they can peck at the dirt. They get grit that way. They eat a bit of dirt, it has minerals in it. There could be bits of dried vegetation in it, bits of grass, weeds, or such but that's not so much what the mother is after. The chick should not eat a lot of that but there is nothing unusual about the hen taking her chicks to peck at dirt.

Some of those crumble pieces should be small enough for that chick to eat. But you can put some crumble in a blender or food processor and grind it up some more. Don't take it all the way to powder, they seem to eat it better if it is in bits instead of ground to a powder.

Can you post photos of the feeder and the waterer? Some of that is curiosity but I'd like to know what you are working with. What style are you using and how is it presented to the chick and hen.

Is that chick telling the world that it is hungry or thirsty? Is it giving a loud steady plaintive peep? If you hear it you will know that the chick is not happy just from the way it sounds, it can tear your heart out. If you are not hearing that peep it is not yet hungry or thirsty.

You may not have food or water where the hen is used to finding it. It usually doesn't take long for my broody hens to find the feed and water for their chicks, they soon learn to take their chicks there. But I give my broody hens with chicks the option to take them out foraging. After a morning fill-up they spend practically all day out with the chicks foraging for a lot of what they eat.

Thank you so much. I'll go out now and take some better pics. I've been placing everything really close to them. Chick is running around making those peeping noises and trying to find food in the dirt. Also trying to eat the crumble and egg. More success with egg, I think.

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

One of the first things my broody hens do is take their chicks to a spot where they can peck at the dirt. They get grit that way. They eat a bit of dirt, it has minerals in it. There could be bits of dried vegetation in it, bits of grass, weeds, or such but that's not so much what the mother is after. The chick should not eat a lot of that but there is nothing unusual about the hen taking her chicks to peck at dirt.

Some of those crumble pieces should be small enough for that chick to eat. But you can put some crumble in a blender or food processor and grind it up some more. Don't take it all the way to powder, they seem to eat it better if it is in bits instead of ground to a powder.

Can you post photos of the feeder and the waterer? Some of that is curiosity but I'd like to know what you are working with. What style are you using and how is it presented to the chick and hen.

Is that chick telling the world that it is hungry or thirsty? Is it giving a loud steady plaintive peep? If you hear it you will know that the chick is not happy just from the way it sounds, it can tear your heart out. If you are not hearing that peep it is not yet hungry or thirsty.

You may not have food or water where the hen is used to finding it. It usually doesn't take long for my broody hens to find the feed and water for their chicks, they soon learn to take their chicks there. But I give my broody hens with chicks the option to take them out foraging. After a morning fill-up they spend practically all day out with the chicks foraging for a lot of what they eat.

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

One of the first things my broody hens do is take their chicks to a spot where they can peck at the dirt. They get grit that way. They eat a bit of dirt, it has minerals in it. There could be bits of dried vegetation in it, bits of grass, weeds, or such but that's not so much what the mother is after. The chick should not eat a lot of that but there is nothing unusual about the hen taking her chicks to peck at dirt.

Some of those crumble pieces should be small enough for that chick to eat. But you can put some crumble in a blender or food processor and grind it up some more. Don't take it all the way to powder, they seem to eat it better if it is in bits instead of ground to a powder.

Can you post photos of the feeder and the waterer? Some of that is curiosity but I'd like to know what you are working with. What style are you using and how is it presented to the chick and hen.

Is that chick telling the world that it is hungry or thirsty? Is it giving a loud steady plaintive peep? If you hear it you will know that the chick is not happy just from the way it sounds, it can tear your heart out. If you are not hearing that peep it is not yet hungry or thirsty.

You may not have food or water where the hen is used to finding it. It usually doesn't take long for my broody hens to find the feed and water for their chicks, they soon learn to take their chicks there. But I give my broody hens with chicks the option to take them out foraging. After a morning fill-up they spend practically all day out with the chicks foraging for a lot of what they eat.

One of the first things my broody hens do is take their chicks to a spot where they can peck at the dirt. They get grit that way. They eat a bit of dirt, it has minerals in it. There could be bits of dried vegetation in it, bits of grass, weeds, or such but that's not so much what the mother is after. The chick should not eat a lot of that but there is nothing unusual about the hen taking her chicks to peck at dirt.

Some of those crumble pieces should be small enough for that chick to eat. But you can put some crumble in a blender or food processor and grind it up some more. Don't take it all the way to powder, they seem to eat it better if it is in bits instead of ground to a powder.

Can you post photos of the feeder and the waterer? Some of that is curiosity but I'd like to know what you are working with. What style are you using and how is it presented to the chick and hen.

Is that chick telling the world that it is hungry or thirsty? Is it giving a loud steady plaintive peep? If you hear it you will know that the chick is not happy just from the way it sounds, it can tear your heart out. If you are not hearing that peep it is not yet hungry or thirsty.

You may not have food or water where the hen is used to finding it. It usually doesn't take long for my broody hens to find the feed and water for their chicks, they soon learn to take their chicks there. But I give my broody hens with chicks the option to take them out foraging. After a morning fill-up they spend practically all day out with the chicks foraging for a lot of what they eat.

One of the first things my broody hens do is take their chicks to a spot where they can peck at the dirt. They get grit that way. They eat a bit of dirt, it has minerals in it. There could be bits of dried vegetation in it, bits of grass, weeds, or such but that's not so much what the mother is after. The chick should not eat a lot of that but there is nothing unusual about the hen taking her chicks to peck at dirt.

Some of those crumble pieces should be small enough for that chick to eat. But you can put some crumble in a blender or food processor and grind it up some more. Don't take it all the way to powder, they seem to eat it better if it is in bits instead of ground to a powder.

Can you post photos of the feeder and the waterer? Some of that is curiosity but I'd like to know what you are working with. What style are you using and how is it presented to the chick and hen.

Is that chick telling the world that it is hungry or thirsty? Is it giving a loud steady plaintive peep? If you hear it you will know that the chick is not happy just from the way it sounds, it can tear your heart out. If you are not hearing that peep it is not yet hungry or thirsty.

You may not have food or water where the hen is used to finding it. It usually doesn't take long for my broody hens to find the feed and water for their chicks, they soon learn to take their chicks there. But I give my broody hens with chicks the option to take them out foraging. After a morning fill-up they spend practically all day out with the chicks foraging for a lot of what they eat.

Hopefully you can see the picture. I tried to upload a video of the baby trying to eat but it didn't work.

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

One of the first things my broody hens do is take their chicks to a spot where they can peck at the dirt. They get grit that way. They eat a bit of dirt, it has minerals in it. There could be bits of dried vegetation in it, bits of grass, weeds, or such but that's not so much what the mother is after. The chick should not eat a lot of that but there is nothing unusual about the hen taking her chicks to peck at dirt.

Some of those crumble pieces should be small enough for that chick to eat. But you can put some crumble in a blender or food processor and grind it up some more. Don't take it all the way to powder, they seem to eat it better if it is in bits instead of ground to a powder.

Can you post photos of the feeder and the waterer? Some of that is curiosity but I'd like to know what you are working with. What style are you using and how is it presented to the chick and hen.

Is that chick telling the world that it is hungry or thirsty? Is it giving a loud steady plaintive peep? If you hear it you will know that the chick is not happy just from the way it sounds, it can tear your heart out. If you are not hearing that peep it is not yet hungry or thirsty.

You may not have food or water where the hen is used to finding it. It usually doesn't take long for my broody hens to find the feed and water for their chicks, they soon learn to take their chicks there. But I give my broody hens with chicks the option to take them out foraging. After a morning fill-up they spend practically all day out with the chicks foraging for a lot of what they eat.