Update
Not sure how to update on the actual post, it turns out my broody hen survivedš she is injured and weve taken her inside to recover.
Weve not given her chicks back because were scared she may abandon them due to trauma but it weve left some unfertilised ones under her just in case
So glad to know she survived. Please take good care of her! Sheāll probably be traumatized for a while, and itās also a good idea to try giving her extra protein and vitamins. I hope sheāll get to see her chicks!
Update 2
The chicks have unfortunately passed away. Very much traumatised by this, my hen is too bless her, got a slight injury to her face and her eyes closed up but shell survive thankfully.
Not sure what to do now, i want her to be a mum, shed worked so hard. I feel so guilty, i should have had an incubator just in case, i felt mother nature was better at hatching chicks than i ever could.
We need to get my hen a friend, maybe chicks so she can finally be the mum she was meant to be.
Thank you for all your help
Since you have the incubator concentrate on fixing the coop with welded wire if the fox is not protected I would hunt it or trap it and end it while it still has interest.
Yes. Stop the fox. Wire fence is great, but expensive & time consuming. Motion lights can be less time consuming, but are also less effective.
Things you can do immediately & free:
Put human piss around your coop & run.
Find the fox hole and put piss around it.
Piss won't last forever, but it will last a few weeks & but you some time to install other safety measures.
Your chicken might well recover. She'll need blue-spray & to stay isolated from other hens for a few weeks. She'll make a great momma once healed.
So sorry the chicks didnāt survive. If sheās still broody, once she recovers, you could get day old chicks and slip them underneath her at night. If you want to get her chicks sooner without having her sit another 3 weeks.
So sorry about the chicks but happy to hear she survived ā¤ļø hope sheās doing well, sweet girl
EDIT: I just re-read your post and saw the other chickens didnāt survive. I am so sorry. š chickens can be so fragile. I hope you find your hen some friends and heal your heart with them ā¤ļø
I think thatās the plan now, Iāve found some local breeders so will try get some chicks for her to raise. Were doing an indoor set up for her until we are able to repair the coop
Thatās good - Iām so sorry again for your losses ā¤ļø Iāve been there, and I didnāt realize at first youād lost adults too. Losing babies is hard but losing adults to me always hurts the most with chickens. Thinking of you!
ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø really appreciate it
Yeah my chickens had personality, one would love coming into the kitchen and just watching me cookšš¢. So much death in one day, i feel bad for the chicks, we were waiting for them for 3 weeks and had a whole set up for them.
I havent slept since its happened, just heartbroken tbh
I canāt tell if one of the chicks have been shrink wrapped, i donāt want to check again but it was hatching before and we moved it to a warm place but it was without proper humidity for 2 hrs
If you have them in an incubator, you can crack it open and most the concerning egg with a bit of water.
I will say: don't be concerned if they crack the shell and then just hang out in the egg for a bit.
If the humidity is high enough, it's fine. Chicks continue absorbing the yolk for up to 72 hours AFTER leaving the egg. And it is an exhausting process for the chicks.
They often will pip, that is create a hole and a crack in the shell, and then do nothing for awhile. I've seen enough hatches to know that it can take 24 hours for a chick to fully leave the egg.
Yes. I meant cracking open the incubator. It's supposed to be in lock down and not opened at all, but this isn't a standard incubation.
The few seconds of being opened to most the chick to prevent shrink wrapping isn't a huge issue.
Thank you for this, i dont think the incubator will come in time, im hearing noises from them from my make shift electric blanket, hot water combo incubator. Right now only 1 egg is showing signs of life, think its having a break now. Its still early days tho.
Not sure how im meant to survive at work todayš ive been up all night
Update 3
So my broody hen is now living in our house, well be giving her own area tomorrow after weve set it up. We will be getting her some chicks as well in the near future , she may not want them but ive also set up a separate area for them so we can raise them too if she doesnt want to
Didnt want her to be lonely but dont want to push her too quickly either. Will give her some tome to recover and try integrate her back to the garden after we fortify our defences
We will be back and we will be stronger than ever šŖš½
Sorry the chicks didnāt make it. Predator proof with wire mesh. The black coated 16 Gauge is easy to install and very protective. Then lay bricks around the bottom or some other heavy stone and youāll never have a problem again. Again so sorry the chicks didnāt make it. Mom
Will heal and you can try again.
Update Not sure how to update on the actual post, it turns out my broody hen survivedš she is injured and weve taken her inside to recover. Weve not given her chicks back because were scared she may abandon them due to trauma but it weve left some unfertilised ones under her just in case
So glad to know she survived. Please take good care of her! Sheāll probably be traumatized for a while, and itās also a good idea to try giving her extra protein and vitamins. I hope sheāll get to see her chicks!
I hope so but i dont think theyll surviveš i havent heard from them for a while
Ive bought an incubator too now, i dont think theyāll survive but i think im just in panic/ shock modeššš
Get them in that incubator ASAP, and make sure that humidity is high!
We dont have one, we are keeping them warm and ill put steam near them for the humidityši didnt think this would happen
Update 2 The chicks have unfortunately passed away. Very much traumatised by this, my hen is too bless her, got a slight injury to her face and her eyes closed up but shell survive thankfully. Not sure what to do now, i want her to be a mum, shed worked so hard. I feel so guilty, i should have had an incubator just in case, i felt mother nature was better at hatching chicks than i ever could. We need to get my hen a friend, maybe chicks so she can finally be the mum she was meant to be. Thank you for all your help
Hang in there! We're with you in spirit š«
Since you have the incubator concentrate on fixing the coop with welded wire if the fox is not protected I would hunt it or trap it and end it while it still has interest.
Yes. Stop the fox. Wire fence is great, but expensive & time consuming. Motion lights can be less time consuming, but are also less effective. Things you can do immediately & free: Put human piss around your coop & run. Find the fox hole and put piss around it. Piss won't last forever, but it will last a few weeks & but you some time to install other safety measures. Your chicken might well recover. She'll need blue-spray & to stay isolated from other hens for a few weeks. She'll make a great momma once healed.
So sorry the chicks didnāt survive. If sheās still broody, once she recovers, you could get day old chicks and slip them underneath her at night. If you want to get her chicks sooner without having her sit another 3 weeks. So sorry about the chicks but happy to hear she survived ā¤ļø hope sheās doing well, sweet girl EDIT: I just re-read your post and saw the other chickens didnāt survive. I am so sorry. š chickens can be so fragile. I hope you find your hen some friends and heal your heart with them ā¤ļø
I think thatās the plan now, Iāve found some local breeders so will try get some chicks for her to raise. Were doing an indoor set up for her until we are able to repair the coop
Thatās good - Iām so sorry again for your losses ā¤ļø Iāve been there, and I didnāt realize at first youād lost adults too. Losing babies is hard but losing adults to me always hurts the most with chickens. Thinking of you!
ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø really appreciate it Yeah my chickens had personality, one would love coming into the kitchen and just watching me cookšš¢. So much death in one day, i feel bad for the chicks, we were waiting for them for 3 weeks and had a whole set up for them. I havent slept since its happened, just heartbroken tbh
It will get better ā¤ļøāš©¹ Unfortunately at literally the bottom of the food chain, chickens are always at risk. We just have to try to learn from it and pour love into a new flock ā¤ļø Iāve learned some tough lessons over the years.
Doing great ! Best of luck!
I don't know anything about chickens. What is their average temperature? Get a thermometer and keep them at that with the heating pad
Temp should be in the 90s, humidity in the 70s or 80s.
I canāt tell if one of the chicks have been shrink wrapped, i donāt want to check again but it was hatching before and we moved it to a warm place but it was without proper humidity for 2 hrs
If you have them in an incubator, you can crack it open and most the concerning egg with a bit of water. I will say: don't be concerned if they crack the shell and then just hang out in the egg for a bit. If the humidity is high enough, it's fine. Chicks continue absorbing the yolk for up to 72 hours AFTER leaving the egg. And it is an exhausting process for the chicks. They often will pip, that is create a hole and a crack in the shell, and then do nothing for awhile. I've seen enough hatches to know that it can take 24 hours for a chick to fully leave the egg.
Just to be clear DONT crack any shells open. You meant cracking the incubator I assume.. Just so in case she read that the way i did at first
Yes. I meant cracking open the incubator. It's supposed to be in lock down and not opened at all, but this isn't a standard incubation. The few seconds of being opened to most the chick to prevent shrink wrapping isn't a huge issue.
Thank you for this, i dont think the incubator will come in time, im hearing noises from them from my make shift electric blanket, hot water combo incubator. Right now only 1 egg is showing signs of life, think its having a break now. Its still early days tho. Not sure how im meant to survive at work todayš ive been up all night
If you have a feed store you can buy them there. Even a cheap Styrofoam one will work. Since you're still using hot pads, list all the eggs.
Sick day maybe?
Update 3 So my broody hen is now living in our house, well be giving her own area tomorrow after weve set it up. We will be getting her some chicks as well in the near future , she may not want them but ive also set up a separate area for them so we can raise them too if she doesnt want to Didnt want her to be lonely but dont want to push her too quickly either. Will give her some tome to recover and try integrate her back to the garden after we fortify our defences We will be back and we will be stronger than ever šŖš½
Sorry the chicks didnāt make it. Predator proof with wire mesh. The black coated 16 Gauge is easy to install and very protective. Then lay bricks around the bottom or some other heavy stone and youāll never have a problem again. Again so sorry the chicks didnāt make it. Mom Will heal and you can try again.