Chick questions

[Marsha Cassada]

I mentioned our broody hen successfuly hatched her three eggs. They are 12 days old now. I went out this morning and there were only two. Looked in the chicken house and there was a bullsnake. The chicken pen is totally wired, but I guess he was just small enough to get through the mesh. I caught the remaining two chicks and put them in with the 5 pullets from the feed store, which we are raising in the house. Mother hen is distraught. Should I give them back, or will she get over it and get on with her life?

The pullets are a week older than the hatched chicks but they seem to be getting along all right. They are cuddled under the light together.

 

[Sterling]

When I've pulled chicks from the hen to hand raise or to have her go back into an egg laying cycle they have had no problems getting over it after a few hours. By the next day they are going about their daily routine...and even as early as a few hours later. Chickens are resilient. You may see her puffing about and looking a bit confused, squawking etc....but she will come around. Its the initial "where are they".

 

[CabbagePatch]

Yes I agree with keeping them inside so they will be safe. I too have had a huge snake problem this year, and was hit relly hard when two rat snakes had found my incubator( hatches about 200 eggs at a time)and were wiping out about 10 eggs a night(usually by crushing them)and only eating 1 or2!! They were coming in thru the vent it has since been wired over and the snakes have been offed.The ones that did hatch natrually (by hens) have also had to be put up in the brooder with the incubater hatched guys for everybody's safety. The mama hens do cause quite a fuss for a little but since it is still early in the year most went on to start a new nest after just a few days. Since I only have 2 brooder boxes I also have to keep different ages biddies together, they do fine if the bigger ones start picking at the small guys then change to a yellow (bug light) bulb that should help calm everybody down while still keeping warm.I do keep all the banties together, and in the other box the standard size,only one breed have I found to be aggressive while young is the Aziels. I wish you a good hatching season!!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

It took the hen several days to settle down after we took the chicks. She is acting more normal now, and even eyeing the nest box with interest. It was heart breaking to watch her the first few days. It didn't help that our resident mocking bird was imitating chick peeps. The babies were not happy either, but seem to be settling all right now. I think we'll wait at least another week to put them outdoors, just to make sure they have forgotten each other, and to let the little ones get more size for safety.

 

[Miniv]

Our experience has been with ducks. Last year our ducks just had one baby and we left it with the parents. I found it dead a couple of days later. THIS year they had SIX ducklings and we pulled them into the house. They are all thriving and about half grown. We put them in a bedded kiddie pool, wrapped in netting, which is in the barn, when they were a couple of weeks old. I think it's time to put them out with their parents....any day now.

It took the mother duck about a day or so to get over not having her babies.

 

[candycar]

I usually wait until they have mostly feathers before putting them with the flock. Introduce them in a small cage first, for a couple of hours. But I'm no expert either. Good Luck!

 

[MindyLee]

Yep I agree, dont put them back out. I never put chicks in a adult flock untill 2.5-3 month old cause the adult birds could kill even eat them. Momma hens if gone from chicks long enough will also be aggressive cause they dont realize them are hers and she too could hurt/kill them. Once pulled they dont go back till they are bigger.

I hatch and raise chicks all the time, I always pull chicks once they are born and fluffy. Not worth any risks.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

We've been putting the chicks in the chicken pen or garden every day during the day and putting them up in their safe place at night. One of the hens is a little agressive, but if the chicks stay out of her way she is okay. Yesterday I had them in the garden as they are big enough to eat grasshoppers but not big enough to excavate the plants. When I came out in the evening, they were grouped by the gate. When I opened the gate, there was a bullsnake coiled there. I guess they harrassed it to that spot and it thought it could escape there. It was definitely a case of the chicks vs. the snake and the snake was losing.

Tonight I will try to leave them all in the pen for the night. The two hatched ones are really not ready, but I want them all to stay together. The stock tank we're keeping them in is getting too small so they need to go into the pen/chicken house. Nights are warm and dry, so they should be warm enough.

The two hatched ones appear to be a type of game chicken. They came out of large brown eggs. Hopefully neither is a cockerel, as I've been told game roosters are always agressive. I cannot tell their sex yet.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I wonder if anyone can tell what breed of chicken this is? It was a fertile egg I got from someone and my broody hen hatched it. There were three eggs; the other two chicks are solid black. This one sort of looks like some sort of game bird. It isn't a purebred. She's only about 7 inches tall--smaller than the black one. The eggs were large brown eggs, so we didn't think it could be a banty. It's hard to get a good picture of her as the chicks are all so busy chasing grasshoppers right now. Notice the mohawk.

www.cassphoto.com/stripey6-27.jpg

 

[jacks'thunder]

Sorry I can't help Marsha, but darn she sure is cute! I love her mask!

 

[izmepeggy]

I thought this was funny so I had to post.. lol.. http://www.realfarmacy.com/the-hazards-of-backyard-hens-2/

 

[Debby - LB]

OMG that's hilarious thanks for sharing