Salt is not a good mama…😡

[Ruler of the Roost]

So we have two chickens that our birds laid hatched and raised. They are called Salt and Peppa. Salt hatched her first brood in a random place in the yard far away from the coop and flock. We didn’t even know she was sitting. She just disappeared for a while. Then one night, after she had made her reappearance, I heard the twerpin of baby birds. Found her brood. 6 babies in all she just abandoned the whole clutch! Was even roosting with the other birds for the night! Just reappeared with flock like she hadn’t just hatched chicks! And I mean left them alone all day before we found them. One was just running around looking for mama in the dark, one was half buried in the sand covered in ants, two were so lethargic we thought they were dead, and one was stuck in its shell. The other two were DOA by the time we found them. Got them under a heat lamp asap, but one of the lethargic ones didn’t make it through the night. The other one is walking and squawking and doing chicken things, but she’s small, developing really slowly, and is wobbly on her legs. She keeps falling over on her back and can’t right herself. My grandson named her Sky after a paw patrol character, but my wife says it’s cause she’s always on her back and looking at the sky. The one that was stuck in the egg made a full recovery after some scary moments. We named her Eglin after the air force base and giving hommage to the fact that she was stuck in the shell. The one that was born healthy we named Orphan Annie. I’ll get pics in the morning. It’s late, but there’s another update from my crazy Florida farm!!! 9 chicks in the brooders as we speak!!!

 

[alinas2010]

So we have two chickens that our birds laid hatched and raised. They are called Salt and Peppa. Salt hatched her first brood in a random place in the yard far away from the coop and flock. We didn’t even know she was sitting. She just disappeared for a while. Then one night, after she had made her reappearance, I heard the twerpin of baby birds. Found her brood. 6 babies in all she just abandoned the whole clutch! Was even roosting with the other birds for the night! Just reappeared with flock like she hadn’t just hatched chicks! And I mean left them alone all day before we found them. One was just running around looking for mama in the dark, one was half buried in the sand covered in ants, two were so lethargic we thought they were dead, and one was stuck in its shell. The other two were DOA by the time we found them. Got them under a heat lamp asap, but one of the lethargic ones didn’t make it through the night. The other one is walking and squawking and doing chicken things, but she’s small, developing really slowly, and is wobbly on her legs. She keeps falling over on her back and can’t right herself. My grandson named her Sky after a paw patrol character, but my wife says it’s cause she’s always on her back and looking at the sky. The one that was stuck in the egg made a full recovery after some scary moments. We named her Eglin after the air force base and giving hommage to the fact that she was stuck in the shell. The one that was born healthy we named Orphan Annie. I’ll get pics in the morning. It’s late, but there’s another update from my crazy Florida farm!!! 9 chicks in the brooders as we speak!!!

Sheesh she is a bad mamma! I’m glad you were able to find them and save a few. Looking forward to seeing them!

 

[SourRoses]

Salt is innocent!

Fire ants are deadly to chickens, yes even adult chickens.
They come for the eggs as soon as they pip and smell the moisture / blood. I've found eggs with ants inside them before the pip had even zipped. They've attacked our nests in coops on several occasions. They kill newly hatched chicks with their poisonous, damaging bites. It's horrible and heartbreaking but a huge concern with outdoor brooding in FL.

I even had an adult with mobility issues in an isolation area get overrun with fire ants, he died a couple hours after I found him.

Salt couldn't sit in that nest or she would have been overrun too - she probably has some bites on her, under the feathers. It's highly likely she tried to call the babies away, but they just weren't mobile enough yet to leave the nest.

So all our brooding now has fire ants in mind. Our brooder is raised off the ground on blocks, and before hatch day I put double sided super sticky tape under and around all the openings on the outside (making sure to remove it before chicks would come near it). In a pinch, I once used slippery auto brake grease (silicone based) in a same barrier method application, again on the outside of the brooding area, and I wiped it off before the door was first opened for them to go outside.
Whatever works, I'm sure there are other DIY protection measures, because if you've had them once, they will come again, and they come quick.

Fire Ants are not like sugar ants where you could use baits and essential oil deterrents. They're mean, vicious critters. We got them coming in our RV somehow in the summer and they would come to my bunk to chew on me and totally ignore the kitchen, ant baits, and natural products. They like flesh. We finally broke down and used real poison inside and bombed their nests outside (with dog exercise panels placed around each mound so the animals wouldn't get into it). That fixed it... for now. They'll be back.

 

[Squawkers]

That’s so sad. I wouldn't blame mama though, even without ants. Some hens are just inexperienced and don’t know what to do. Some hens even kill their chicks.

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

Salt is innocent!

Fire ants are deadly to chickens, yes even adult chickens.
They come for the eggs as soon as they pip and smell the moisture / blood. I've found eggs with ants inside them before the pip had even zipped. They've attacked our nests in coops on several occasions. They kill newly hatched chicks with their poisonous, damaging bites. It's horrible and heartbreaking but a huge concern with outdoor brooding in FL.

I even had an adult with mobility issues in an isolation area get overrun with fire ants, he died a couple hours after I found him.

Salt couldn't sit in that nest or she would have been overrun too - she probably has some bites on her, under the feathers. It's highly likely she tried to call the babies away, but they just weren't mobile enough yet to leave the nest.

So all our brooding now has fire ants in mind. Our brooder is raised off the ground on blocks, and before hatch day I put double sided super sticky tape under and around all the openings on the outside (making sure to remove it before chicks would come near it). In a pinch, I once used slippery auto brake grease (silicone based) in a same barrier method application, again on the outside of the brooding area, and I wiped it off before the door was first opened for them to go outside.
Whatever works, I'm sure there are other DIY protection measures, because if you've had them once, they will come again, and they come quick.

Fire Ants are not like sugar ants where you could use baits and essential oil deterrents. They're mean, vicious critters. We got them coming in our RV somehow in the summer and they would come to my bunk to chew on me and totally ignore the kitchen, ant baits, and natural products. They like flesh. We finally broke down and used real poison inside and bombed their nests outside (with dog exercise panels placed around each mound so the animals wouldn't get into it). That fixed it... for now. They'll be back.

Next time use dot 3. Highly corrosive. It will react to the moisture in ants bodies violently. Kind of like putting them ants in a microwave

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

Here’s pics

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

This is Annie

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

This is Eglin

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

And this is Sky. Like I said, Sky is a bit wobbly. When she falls she almost always needs assistance getting back up. That said when left alone she’s fine, she usually gets accidentally knocked over by her siblings. But she’s small, and developing much slower than her siblings of the same age. We also have to clean her vent multiple times per day and sometimes throughout the night. I’d have to ask my wife cause she’s the one that actually found them, but I believe that Sky was also covered in ants when she was found. I’m wondering if that somehow stunted her growth?

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

I’m switching this brood to a medicated feed this morning and adding rooster booster to their water. Hopefully that will help Sky out some.