Chicks & Broody Hens: Caring for chicks that struggle to hatch

[@mideallen202]

Thanks for sharing this is such a wonderful informative video

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thank you, I'm glad that you liked it

[@brendacavanaugh3104]

Thank you for this video. I have one baby right now that my hen accidentally stepped on. It seemed to be at the stage where she hadn't found her legs yet.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Fingers crossed she is okay 🤞🤞

[@brendacavanaugh3104]

@@EnglishCountryLife So far so good. I am keeping her warm and I gave her water with honey and some chick food. She is doing good so far. Hopefully tomorrow she will be strong enough to go back with her mom

[@Annalisa4000]

Thank you!!! You’re the only source I found that shows that eggs of different dates can all hatch and then be raised by the mama hen.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@Annalisa4000 So long as they all start incubation together & aren't too old it should be fine, that's how birds build a clutch

[@Annalisa4000]

@@EnglishCountryLife my broody girl is on day 13 of her broody journey. Her eggs are July 14, July 15, and July 16th. I think I will invest in a warmer like you showed for the last chicks just in case. Thank you 🌸

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@Annalisa4000 Glad it helped. Brooders are available in our shop www.englishcountrylife.com

[@BaedekerBat]

Exactly what we needed. We’ve had a dramatic morning w a bantam chick hatching 2 days late & mother anondobning it in favor of her six 2-day olds. We’ve recreated the brooder box, transferred the chick & hoping for total success vs an epic fail in reuniting him once he’s steady

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Fingers crossed for you! Please let us know how you get on?

[@BaedekerBat]

@@EnglishCountryLife oh yay, thank you for the prompt reply to me across the Pond in Virginia ;-) One detail is there were eight fertile eggs total. Six hatched 2 days ago and mother has taken those for strolls in the sunshine & taught them to forge. Meanwhile these leftover eggs remained in the nest. This baby hatched earlier today and was alone as mother & sibs are out & about. We moved him to the recovery box where he’s got a heating pad on low & a light in the corner as well as water in a shallow dip dish. Question: should we relocate the last egg so it’s w the abandoned chick or leave it for the mom? We don’t hear chirping in the egg but assume it’s on a similar gestation to this newest chick. Thank you

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@BaedekerBat If you have an incubator we would suggest moving the egg into an incubator until hatch and then moving the chick under a brooder to recover and fluff up prior to reintroducing it. If not then the brood box is better than nothing!

[@jet2051]

Your videos always help me make the right decision for my chickens

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thank you, that's very kind of you

[@cassiewetere3279]

So informative, thank you!!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

[@amandathurber1552]

Thank you!! One of my girls is about to hatch her first clutch. Today is day 19! This was very helpful for a first timer!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Fingers crossed 🤞 for you & her!

[@PikaChu-eb9qi]

Don't leave the chick alone,please always keep one for company,so people watching will know one alone can die ,,,,, its great to see you letting the mom hatch her chicks,it is realy great for the mom to that,they have her comfort,,she talks to them,and they are more happy chicksyour birds are beautiful💞

[@EnglishCountryLife]

We only remove any chick from their brood mother for vital care. They are returned to their broody as soon as possible

[@PikaChu-eb9qi]

@@EnglishCountryLife i know,,,but sometimes if they have a chick with them they have somewhat of a better chance of living,,,they could still die,but it can help,,some one told me that .

[@PikaChu-eb9qi]

I realy love that you let your chicks be hatched with the mom,,,,,,I'm feel bad for the ones in great hattericys,,,you are a great chicken 👩

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@PikaChu-eb9qi We won't remove a healthy chick from its mother, that wouldn't be in the chick's best interest

[@PikaChu-eb9qi]

@@EnglishCountryLife i some times have a hard time saying what i think,,,,I was just trying to coment for anyone watching,that if it happened to them,to leave a second chick with the one just born,I'm sorry if I came across as saying you didn't do the right thing,,I think you are very kind and care a lot about your birds.

[@joannamoran817]

Wow, I barely blinked throughout the whole video. It was absolutely riveting! I can’t wait to get some land to keep chickens. Well, I’ll do a lot more studying first, of course, to have the very best chickens. Thank you so much for such a great program.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

So glad that you found it interesting

[@thesilkfamily2584]

Just found your channel... so helpful! Your demeanour is also so calming and encouraging :) Thanks so much for your help. We have our first two broody hens on day 18... hoping all goes well.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Fingers crossed!

[@camdenwyatt69]

i dont mean to be so offtopic but does anyone know of a method to log back into an instagram account..? I was stupid lost my password. I would appreciate any assistance you can offer me!

[@urieldrake6974]

@Camden Wyatt Instablaster :)

[@camdenwyatt69]

@Uriel Drake I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and I'm in the hacking process now. Takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@ambert.3792]

what an even BETTER version of the twitter story! subscribed. i love your floofs. 🥰😍 and gannet at the end!!! what a snuggle bug.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thanks so much Amber! That's so kind of you to say.

[@McpeBeanAddict]

Its day 19 and im hearing the chick! Im watching this so i am ready for hatching day

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Good luck 🤞🤞

[@McpeBeanAddict]

@@EnglishCountryLife thank you

[@McpeBeanAddict]

@@EnglishCountryLife he hatched today! Either i counted wrong or he really did hatch on day 20! Everything's okay, zero complication! I think its a hen! But question, what do i do with the shell she came out of?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@McpeBeanAddict Do you have any other eggs in the incubator?

[@McpeBeanAddict]

@@EnglishCountryLife no i only hatched one, i have a hen though not an incubator

[@ReformedWoodenCreations]

Great video, very informative as we are currently hatching right now and it's our first time.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

The key is not to interfere unless they really are struggling. With an incubator try not to lift the lid if you can help it as they need the high humidity to hatch successfully. It can also take a chick up to 18 hours to hatch. Once they pip, they can rest for up to 12 hours to gain their strength. If this makes you more nervous, please don't be. The best rule to work to is that chicks that are dry are struggling. If they are damp, generally they are only taking their time. It will be great! Good Luck!

[@shahad1982]

Love love love ur videos ❤❤❤❤ thank u

[@EnglishCountryLife]

So glad!

[@julier7260]

What a thorough and helpful video! We just had our first chicks born to a broody hen and it was similar, one was just too far behind so we popped it into our brooder setup with other chicks we had ordered and we're raising it that way. We didn't know how well returning to Mom worked but now we do for next time, as well as to have an incubator on hand.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

So glad it was useful. Many people think returning chicks is hard, but if you leave it till they are roosting we find it generally works.

[@bgtrev]

We use a brooder plate in conjunction with our incubator hatched eggs, they are a good asset and work well. We make our own saddles but have had mixed success with them as some hens just do not adjust to wearing them at all, watching a hen do the Michael Jackson moon walk is quite amusing to say the least!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

We've been lucky as our hens don't mind the saddles. Your right about the brooder plates. Whether you hatch with an incubator or a broody hen a brooder plate has its place.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

You're not your lol!!!

[@bgtrev]

@@EnglishCountryLife I will admit we do have a good chuckle but a sense of humour is needed when living with animals/birds, especially when they get the better of you!

[@pennycollins9229]

I am at day 20 of my broody hen trying to hatch eggs. This is a first for both of us. Yesterday & today I found an exploded egg. I tried candling the eggs at day 14, but I had no idea if those eggs were fertile or not. I marked the eggs with an X that I thought were not fertilized and left them with the rest. 1 of those eggs exploded, the other is still hanging in there. My question is this, how do I care for the remaining eggs. The first exploded egg did not get on the rest of the eggs and was easy to clean up the nest. The egg that exploded sometime today, made a mess on all the remaining eggs. So far I have only cleaned them up with a dry paper towel. I want to remove any more eggs at risk of exploding, but I have no idea which ones those might be or what to look for. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

At day 20 your chicks should be fully formed. When you candle around 90-95% of the egg should be a dark dense mass. It is imperative that any eggs that have not developed are removed as the gas build up in the egg can cause them to shatter and eggs are porous so rotting eggs next to fertile eggs will exchange some gases putting at risk the developing chicks. I hope that all goes well, I know how scary it is first time around.

[@pennycollins9229]

@@EnglishCountryLife Thank you. I am going to check to see if any are viable. The last 3 days we have had temperature highs near 100 degrees. For that reason I moved hen and her eggs into a partially cooled garage. Temperature there doesn't get higher than 85 degrees celsius. She was sitting on eggs for nearly 2 days after the move, but now after the second egg exploded and I cleaned them up, she is not sitting on them. I think I've lost the remaining 5 eggs.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@pennycollins9229 So sorry to hear that

[@pennycollins9229]

3 eggs are dark from end to end. 2 eggs still have the air sack. I removed the 2 eggs with the air sack still visible and the other 3 still had some of the exploded egg on them. Those 3 I cleaned very gently with a wet finger and placed back in the nest. Is there any change those 3 will hatch? And did I do the right thing by removing the 2 eggs that still have air sack visible?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@pennycollins9229 Its very difficult to say without seeing them, but if there is a significant air gap they are likely to gave stopped developing.

[@carolleenkelmann3829]

What was the problem with the chick that died and which one was it?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

It was the one that I described as drying out in the scene under the brooder. It looked as though it had simply exhausted itself coming out of the egg. It was perfectly formed but smaller than the others and was generally weaker. If it were a piglet we would have described it as a runt. I still think it was worth going through the exercise to save as many as possible. All of the surviving chicks grew to be healthy adults.

[@cherylbeswick7327]

Do you have any videos in regards to bumblefoot?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

I'm sorry, no, it's not something that we suffer from

[@cherylbeswick7327]

@@EnglishCountryLife I've just discovered one of my chickens has developed it.. had a little panick and them came straight to your channel 😄 I've booked an appointment with our vet as I'm very unsure of the cause and treatment as like yourself, I've never come across it either.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@cherylbeswick7327 Do let us know what they say?

[@cherylbeswick7327]

@@EnglishCountryLife our Appointment is tomorrow morning so I will keep you informed 🙂

[@muhammadsameedqureshi7531]

which incubater do you use? I am searching for some best small incubaters

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi! We cannot recommend the Brinsea Ovation 28 too highly. The best small incubator that there is www.omlet.co.uk/shop/chicken_keeping/incubation_and_rearing/21879/brinsea_ovation_28_ex/?rf=de546e05259e245c574aa6df629e4fee&aid=PTATDGVT

[@JeremyWhy]

I just found your channel. Your videos are oh so informative and your voice is very calming. QUESTION: How early can you tell if it a male or female chick? 🐥

[@EnglishCountryLife]

That's a really good question and it does depend on the breed. We have one breed of chicken called Cream Legbars. These are auto-sexing chickens which simply means that as soon as they hatch their markings will indicate if they are male or female. The females have distinct chipmunk stripes down their head and back. Most chicken breed aren't auto-sexing and it's virtually impossible to tell straight away if they are male or female. Our breeding chickens are all Buff Orpingtons and over the years we have found that within 2 weeks we can accurately predict around 20% of the chicks genders, 30% in week 3 until we can predict 100% at week 10. There are a number of factors such as the males have thicker legs, produce tiny lines of red wattles early and hold themselves up more vertically. I have seen videos that say you can compare wing feathers to determine the gender of the chicks but in my experience it hasn't been accurate for me. Does that help?

[@JeremyWhy]

English Country Life 🐓 That definitely helps. Thank you so much for responding. I’ve definitely SUBSCRIBED and will be binging your catalog of videos. 😊👍

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@JeremyWhy Glad you're joining us 😁

[@victorwhittlesea8174]

Hi, I would like to know if you could help me. Every time we have chicks it is wonderful but my flock are always agresive towards them (except their mom of course) what can I do to improve that?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi Victor. Chicks are taught from day 1 about the pecking order in the flock. The older hens will peck the chicks on the head very early on. This should be enough to surprise them, but not violent or painful. If it's more than a gentle "bop" mom should intercede on their behalf. I have a video on chicken communication which shows examples of what this should look like. Watch the video from 9mins 20sec and you'll see what it should look like. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqvVnnxsr7R_fpY If it's more violent than that, the cure for the problem is simply space. Our broody hens establish an area in our field just for themselves and the chicks when they're very young, gradually bringing the chicks closer to the adult hens as they get older. It's important that the broody and chicks can get away from the main flock at all times. A bit of an essay in reply, but I hope that helps.

[@victorwhittlesea8174]

Thanks, It did help me understand why and how I can improve my hen flock chick interaction

[@victorwhittlesea8174]

But one last thing. What if the rooster is also agressive towards the chick, is it for the same reasons? And can I fix in the same way?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@victorwhittlesea8174 Hi Victor. Yes the rooster is doing exactly the same thing. With dpace the broody hen will gradually bring the chicks closer to the flock and allow pecking order behaviour in controlled conditions she will get involved if the peck is too hard. It is part of the chicks education. Its best they learn in small non painful or violent ways how they fit in rather than being introduced as adults when truly violent pecking order clashes can happen. Does that help?

[@victorwhittlesea8174]

Yes it does!!! Thank you for your time.

[@visuallyoriented]

What's the main reason for chick/egg abandonment? Are some chickens just not good mums?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

It's a lack of instinct. A good broody hen needs to have 3 instinctual attributes; incubating the eggs, hatching them and nurturing the chicks. Nutmeg seems fantastic with the chicks (5⭐), less so in incubating the eggs as it seems as though the started growing at completely different times since the hatch took 6 days (3⭐) and only 1⭐ for hatching.

[@visuallyoriented]

@@EnglishCountryLife Interesting, thanks!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@visuallyoriented Anytime 👍

[@JosExotics]

Great video, love how you go into detail. I have just got some orpington hatching eggs, I was a bit disappointed, I had 18 eggs only 6 were fertile and from these 6 only 3 hatched. I had them in an incubator and the second they started to pip and call I popped them under my broody bantum Shirley. Now I bought 6 last year with the intention of popping them straight under her as she sits on as many eggs as my ex bats lay. constantly removing them lol. But last year the day after I popped them under her she abandoned them and stopped being broody.....so frustrating and waste of money. I borrowed an incubator this year. Her little face lit up when I was popping them under her this year as they were calling from the egg. She is doing a great job with them, they are just over a week old now. I wanted to ask about your incubator, where did you get it from? do you have a link to it?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Of course. We bought from the Incubator Shop and we bought this one www.theincubatorshop.co.uk/products/details/brinsea-ovation-28-advance-automatic-egg.html. This has a 28 egg (chicken egg) capacity with auto turning and temperature control. It is manual humidity control but it does have very accurate readings and a high and low humidity alarm. There is z version which has automatic humidity control but for us we didn't think it was worth the extra. It's different for everyone. I have to say Brinsea products are amazing. If you look at secondhand sites they hold their value well so if you find you don't use it a great deal, selling it shouldn't be an issue....at least that's how we justified the spend 👍

[@JosExotics]

@@EnglishCountryLife thank you. Yes the incubator I have borrowed is a brinsea but the turning cradle doesn't work it needs a new part so been having to turn them the old fashioned way.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@JosExotics That must be really annoying. Auto turning is the one thing on a incubator I long since decided I can't do without. I think Brinsea have a repair service for your friend if they contact them.

[@JosExotics]

@@EnglishCountryLife thank you, I think he has something sorted. But yes, I have borrowed it before and it was bliss popping water in then the eggs and just leaving it too it apart from checking as you do.

[@carolleenkelmann3829]

A chicken ICU.😷😷😊💕

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thanks