devon flighter 421 Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 a while back i had a pullet catch us unawares and go broody early ,anyway i let her incubate 13 eggs that were under her,1 hatched and was kicked out of the nest box the following morning dead ! she sat the rest of the eggs ok and hatched 6 health chicks and 2 died trying to chip out ,they are just under 6 weeks old now and yesterday i though i saw the broody have a bit of a go at one of the chicks but thought nothing of it! this morning 3 of the 6 were dead in the coop i took them out and stood back a while and i thought i saw her have a go at one of the 3 remaining so i took HER off them , i put her in a box while i got somewhere sorted to put her and when i opened the box shed laid an egg ,could it be she was aggressive to start (1 dead chick early on ) ? just because she was inexperienced ?,because she had come back into lay due to hormones ?OR just because she was a bad broody ? NEXT question , do hand reared birds make less good broodies than naturally brooded birds ?(she was hand reared) as always the dead ones were the ones i was most interested in rearing !!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
forest of dean redneck 11,543 Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 No expert but think if she's done it once ,she could do it again so treat it same as a egg pecker/eater. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
devon flighter 421 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 my thoughts as well at the moment fdr ! problem/delema at the moment im trying to get some greys sort of stabalised and she is the only grey female ! the chicks were 5 greys and 1 partridge x grey and as per the 3 that got killed were all greys! im leaning towards keeping her as a breeder for eggs (but then do the offspring females end up the same as poor broodies) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HedgeCrawler 224 Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Had that happen before when the hen has had enough of the chicks she will chase them away but when penned it can get nasty.The sure sign to see if the hen is ready to leave the chicks is when she starts laying again.Many game type hens I've had leave their chicks at the 5-6 week mark. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
devon flighter 421 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 spot on then hedge crawler LESSON LEARNT ! she could well of been pushing them to the back of the coup yesterday in hind sight ! and an egg in the box that i put her in to move this morning just about confirms what your saying ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
forest of dean redneck 11,543 Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Hope it works out,I suppose worse case get eggs off her an raise under a broody. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
devon flighter 421 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 looks that way fdr ! still early enough for this season 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rabid 1,936 Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 It's not an inherent trait, ie, the chicks she has wont follow like her, it's more to do with breed usually, some breeds are worse than others for it, if she has laid an egg then no point putting chicks back with her, she has done her bit so now you will have to do the rest unless you have a hen with chicks a similar age, or another broody. Thankfully it's not all that common, most broodies are natural mothers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
devon flighter 421 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 cheers rabid ,thats reassuring the 3 remaining are fine now, they have a heat lamp and eating ok so no dramas ,they were early and it was a bit of a risk i suppose ,nothing else to foster at the moment (tried that last year and it failed lol),got a proven broody from last year sitting some other eggs but thats another batch of something else Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chicken_man 1,651 Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Bad luck that mate. Always the one's you want also. I had one kill chicks as they hatched last yr. Culled on the spot. Better luck next time. Atb 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
devon flighter 421 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 hind sight and all that ! first out of the shell "dead and out of nest next morning ???" just need to knock up a few bits and pieces in morning and im sorted ,survivors are seemingly settled so fingers crossed ive got a couple of pullets left ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chicken_man 1,651 Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 It's one of those things, you wouldn't of known, even with the dead one at the start, it could of died natural causes. It's always a gamble, even proven broodys can come off nest last days. As said, better luck next time. Atb Quote Link to post Share on other sites
devon flighter 421 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 out of likes again have this 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevo79 569 Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Bad luck that mate. Always the one's you want also. I had one kill chicks as they hatched last yr. Culled on the spot. Better luck next time. Atb I had a wellsummer do the same thing. Tried her the next year hatched 8?. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lurcher666phil 43 Posted March 5, 2016 Report Share Posted March 5, 2016 I had a light sussex banty a few years back clocked under a bush in garden so i kept an eye on it hatched all eggs but all chicks dead a while later it did same layed a clutch in same spot and clocked this time i knew when due to hatch and kept an eye on it caught it pecking last live chick to death needles to say it didnt do it again culled imediatly but it shows once theyve done it they will repeat offend Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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