[gingerplant]

Our bantam broodies have hatched a few chicks over the last few days. Went down to check on them yesterday and found one on the floor of the henhouse stone cold, floppy and I thought dead :-(
Brought it up to the house to 'dispose' of it, but on the way up in my hand it started to gasp. I warmed it up, stimulated it, tried a bit of water then sugar water from a syringe, even blew a bit of air from the syringe when it gasped (drew the line at mouth to beak!), and amazingly, gradually over the next hour or so it was sitting up cheeping like made, eyes wide open. Some miraculous recovery - seriously thought it was dead!
Put it back under mum after a while, and seems to be doing really well today, perhaps a tiny bit wobblier than the others but it's younger.
I feel a rather warm proud glow! And how resilient!
Fingers crossed it continues to do well...
Anyone else had similar experiences?

[gingerplant]

Sorry, realised I should have introduced myself cos I'm such a sporadic poster and occasional lurker :-)
Hello all! Been keeping a variety of chooks, totalling 9 give or take a few chicks, for almost 2 years now and love it. Our cockerel Henry is a black pekin raised by Mavis, and we also have coco, maisie, Rosie, Sophie, henny penny, Sally .... Marans, wyandottes, hybrids, pekins and a Poland!
Love reading your stories and the fantastic advice here ... It has been invaluable and often I don't post cos I search and find my answers!
Thanks everyone ....

[GrannieAnnie]

Oh gingerplant that is a lovely story! 

[joyfull]

oh you have to call this one lucky and post a photo for us all to say aaaarrh over 

well done by the way no wonder you feel a warm glow 

[gingerplant]

I think calling it Lucky is a great idea! I will try and get a photo today and post it :-)

[bantam novice]

Well done Gingerplant
I had to do something similar.  My broody had gone out with her one chick and I checked the eggs to see that one was half hatched but not moving.  I removed a bit of shell and membrane and it started to move and cheep but mother wasn't interested in coming back to it. 
I watched from a distance for about 10 mins but she still ignored it so I put it under my tee shirt to take it into the house and then in a box under the hot water tank to keep warm.  It looked so weak and floppy.  I put it back under mother after dark but was expecting to find that it had not survived the night.
Lo and behold the next morning it had turned into a ball of yellow fluff and although a little wobbly on its legs it was fine and has gone from strength to strength. 
They certainly are resilient!

[New shoot]

Well done Gingerplant    Looking forward to the piccies - we love chick pics on here 

[foxi loxi]

Thats fantastic Gingerplant, pics sound like a great idea to me 

[gingerplant]

Here goes... rather grainy rubbish picture, but they move so fast & it was taken on my iphone when I went to let them all out this morning!
The 2 mums are sharing 4 chicks between them (we didn't let them sit on too many eggs!) and seemed to be doing combined mothering, very cute...
Lucky is the little one at the front!

[joyfull]

How lovely and Lucky seems to be thriving 

[bantam novice]

Lovely 

[Lewjam]

awww very nice!

[hillfooter]

You must have just caught it in time.   Hope it turns out to be a hen so it will be doubly lucky.

Unfortunately hatching under inexperience broodies with eggs that might not have been set at the same time can lead to late arrivals not being cared for in those crucial minutes during and after hatch.  Chicks are quickly chilled if mum leaves the nest at this time.  I lost one chick this way and another which had pipped and partially broken through the shell but been left by the broodie to tend her earlier hatchlings.

HF

[gingerplant]

Hillfooter,
I think you're absolutely right - if it had been even a few minutes later I reckon it definitely would've died.  My resuscitation skills are usually more practised on humans, so it was rather peculiar!
This is Mavis' (Mum) 2nd brood and she was a wonderful Mum last time (and excellent again), but I think I disturbed her inadvertantly at the wrong moment in the morning by sorting out their crumbs, and she left the nest when the chick was clearly very new.
Also, the point about eggs that weren't set at the same time is very well made; the reason two hens were sitting on a clutch is because we went away for 5 days asking our (chicken-keeping) neighbours to look after all our chooks.  For some reason (I think they completely forgot - but won't be asking them again) they were utterly neglected - came back to find two drinkers bone dry, all feeders completely empty, and two bantams sitting on 13 eggs together (with 6 that they couldn't fit on!!) - amazingly they were all fine (they have a very large fruitful free range area thank goodness), but as a result we had no real idea when the eggs were actually due!
Anyway, all seems to be well that ends well.....
fingers crossed
Thanks
(also hoping it will be a hen!)

[hillfooter]

but as a result we had no real idea when the eggs were actually due!
Anyway, all seems to be well that ends well.....
fingers crossed
Thanks
(also hoping it will be a hen!)

This is similar to what happened in my case see the thread "Where has Anastasia gone?". 
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=73914.msg841411#msg841411

In this case one of our bantams 'disappeared' and we thought she had been taken by a fox but she was in fact sitting on 18 eggs under a bush in the garden.  She had dug a pit which she'd managed to fill with eggs but of course only the top layer was warm.  I set her up in a broody coop with just 7 eggs, still rather more than she could cover easily.  4 hatched but over a 4 day period and the other three although fertile got abandoned in various stages of development.  Nature can be cruel at times but also produces some amazing stories too.

Best of luck
HF