eggs now under!

One baby hatched 4 days ago and is running around the pen with Mum, locked in the coup at night. She is teaching her/him all the things good chicks should know. Mum does everything. I have a kilner jar upturned in a large garden saucer for her to drink, she can't drown and I am feeding her with organic chick crumbs, lightly wetted. Mum breaks the ground for her to forage.

The other three eggs seem to be left for most of the day and when I felt them yesterday they were very cold. Does this mean they will not hatch? I have not raised chicks before and would not like to move the eggs if there is a chance the chicks are ready to break free.

Klou

Hi,

Our broody hatched 8 chicks two weeks ago and she is teaching them all they need to know, you will get to recognise the 'food clucks' she gives to let the chicks know to come and eat. Feathers grow remarkably quickly, as does the preening and 'scratch, step back and eat' instincts.

We used to take her off the eggs twice a day for about 10 minutes max so that she could stretch, eat etc. Even though there was food and water within beak reach, she never seemed to touch them when she was on the eggs and we had to tempt her with food in our hands. She would also seem to know when it was time to finish walking about and get back on the eggs without encouragement, although from day 20 we left her on them. By this time you could hear little cheeps and pecks from inside the eggs  .

She had a good dusting with lice powder after about ten days as she was scratching around the face a bit, and even though we cleaned out the bedding regularly she had never pooped in it, but yes, a good idea to do this to get rid of unseen and unwanted guests.

We also put out water in shallow dishes, but it didn't take long (maybe 2-3 days) before they had been taught to drink from the big girls drinking water.

When she was taken off the eggs, we kept them covered with a thick towel to keep them warm.

Good luck - they are a great source of fun - much better than tv

My broody took her one and only chick out in all weathers, freezing cold, chucking it down, windy - you name it.  I was horrified to think that my incubator chicks were under a cozy electric hen all the time when this little one was out and about knee deep in mud.

However the little one was able to nip under mum when she was cold, and got a ride around on mum's back, and the only idfference between her and the incubator chicks is that she is a bit smaller - but she is much more out going and into everything, and not as timid when exploring new places as the others.

Mum and chick should be let out together (in fact they will never be apart, and if you try to separate them they will beth get very distressed) in a separate pen for at least the first week or two.  Then when the chick as grown a little (and they grow so fast when newly hatched!) they can spend more time with the rest of the hens - mum will protect her.  When she was brooding, the other hens were probably attacking mum to get her back on the nest.