Natural breeding thread

[fluffycrow]

that's tragic. What will you do with the chicks if she passes?

The chicks seem to have retained that rebellious spirit. The were eating their chick feed and scratching on the ground when I went down to the coops.

If they make it through the night (assuming that mum doesn’t, and as such, they will be left with no heat source), I’ll try a hybrid method of brooding them outside at night(but near the house, since I can’t get power to the coops), and letting them free range with the group throughout the day, with almost full supervision. They don’t seem sick at all (if anything, a bit on the skinny side), so I’m hopeful they can make it. It’s a crappy situation for sure

 

[BDutch]

As Perris says. Very tragic.
Did you look for bloodsucking red mites? That would explain the pale face and comb.
Maybe if you get her and the chicks out, and put them in a clean nestbox with vitamin water and very nutritious food she pulls through? Hope so.

 

[fluffycrow]

As Perris says. Very tragic.
Did you look for bloodsucking red mites? That would explain the pale face and comb.
Maybe if you get her and the chicks out, and put them in a clean nestbox with vitamin water and very nutritious food she pulls through? Hope so.

Thanks for the input. I don’t think it’s mites. I’m pretty paranoid about that, so I check the nests (as well as the friendliest birds) daily. After mum had taken the chicks off the nest I checked once again, and did not see anything. She has not gone back to a nest since.

Right now it’s nighttime, as I came home late(ish), and only managed to see the birds for a few minutes before roosting time. If she makes it through the night, and is strong enough to eat or drink in the morning, I’ll definitely help

 

[Perris]

It’s a crappy situation for sure

It is.

 

[Skyeknight]

Apologies for not replying to your post sooner, @Skyeknight , this week has been too much, mainly due to the reason for having to leave home, and now this. I have read it rather hastily, and it all seems very interesting. Will need to read it with a clearer mind, but I’ve already learnt that barring inhibits fibro, which I did not know. Thank you!

No worries, we all have lives going on besides reading and interacting with people on this site. This is why messages are convenient as you just reply whenever you have time for it.

 

[fluffycrow]

As most of you could guess, mum passed some time during the night.

One chick was found wandering around, healthy. The other was still under its mum’s body, trapped and almost crushed under her weight. Mum passed on a damp spot, so the chick under her got dangerously cold. It couldn’t walk, due to the abnormal position it was trapped in. After blow drying, and some good food, it seems to have bounced back.

Today the chicks will stay in their sleeping quarters under the heating plate to regain their strength. If everything goes well, they’ll go down to the coops once again tomorrow.

After more hasty stalking on my favourite threads, I’d like to congratulate you Perris for taking first place in the article writing contest. The article on hedges was very informative (as is the case with all your articles), and quite deserving of first place

 

[Perris]

so sorry for the loss of your broody @fluffycrow ; I have my fingers crossed for the chicks, especially the one that got chilled. Let's hope they join the ranks of those that surprise us with their resilience. Lots of chicks on BYC grow up without a broody, and yours had one as their first impression of life.

Also, thank you for your kind comments on my articles.

 

[fluffycrow]

so sorry for the loss of your broody @fluffycrow ; I have my fingers crossed for the chicks, especially the one that got chilled. Let's hope they join the ranks of those that surprise us with their resilience. Lots of chicks on BYC grow up without a broody, and yours had one as their first impression of life.

Also, thank you for your kind comments on my articles.

Thank you. It’s not my loss that I’m worried about, rather the absence of a mother for the chicks. It’s quite different when a chick is hatched in an artificial environment from the start, compared to going from a vast, natural environment with a mother as a teacher, to a heat plate with no heart beat. The chicks seem rather unaffected, so far. Perhaps what I perceived as rebelliousness was them knowing their time with mum was extremely limited. Nature never ceases to amaze

 

[BDutch]

As most of you could guess, mum passed some time during the night.

One chick was found wandering around, healthy. The other was still under its mum’s body, trapped and almost crushed under her weight. Mum passed on a damp spot, so the chick under her got dangerously cold. It couldn’t walk, due to the abnormal position it was trapped in. After blow drying, and some good food, it seems to have bounced back.

Today the chicks will stay in their sleeping quarters under the heating plate to regain their strength. If everything goes well, they’ll go down to the coops once again tomorrow.

After more hasty stalking on my favourite threads, I’d like to congratulate you Perris for taking first place in the article writing contest. The article on hedges was very informative (as is the case with all your articles), and quite deserving of first place

Sorry to hear the mum didn’t make it. Hope the chicks will be fine in your care.

 

[Rebecca1219]

Hi.
Soooo. I have a broody chicken. I bought some hatching eggs. 10, because chicken math. It’s day… idk, 15? And hubby discouraged me from candling them around day 6 or so with my iPad. I think I got through two, didn’t really know what I was looking at, and he said, forget it; let’s leave her to it.
My fear is this: what if one or more are bad and they explode???

Today is the warmest day we’ve had in the month of July, only 94, but I figure it can’t be pleasant sitting in that coop.
Picture of her eggs to follow (taken while she ran around the run to poop!)