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[Mountain Cat]

My hen, Idril, hatched out a baby chick yesterday.

She'd gone broody and I allowed her to keep eggs, so here we have the first of what may be several. The egg had been laid either April 6th or 7th.

The chick is a silver-laced Wyandotte x buff Orpington F1 cross. In simpler English, she is the first filial hybrid offspring of a pure silver-laced Wyandotte rooster (who was named Tiny Dancer, as when I'd gotten him as a day old chick, he'd been the smallest of the batch, and I rather like classic Elton John...) and a pure buff Orpington mother hen (named Idril, for one of the elves in JRR Tolkien's worlds).

At first glance h/she (the chick) seems to have carried on most of the physical appearance genetics of the mother. Mostly pale buff now, but some darkness on the top of the head, by both eyes, and at the tips of one wing.

The chick had to come in overnight, and h/she is living in a box in my living room. Temps were going to drop close to freezing (35F/4C) overnight. Besides, mama was paying more attention to the hatchling and ignoring the unhatched.

The chick seems to be having trouble walking, however. I am seriously hoping I won't need to cull, because otherwise h/she is eager to live.

 

[Morning Glory]

So cute!

 

[Lullabelle]

My hen, Idril, hatched out a baby chick yesterday.

She'd gone broody and I allowed her to keep eggs, so here we have the first of what may be several. The egg had been laid either April 6th or 7th.

The chick is a silver-laced Wyandotte x buff Orpington F1 cross. In simpler English, she is the first filial hybrid offspring of a pure silver-laced Wyandotte rooster (who was named Tiny Dancer, as when I'd gotten him as a day old chick, he'd been the smallest of the batch, and I rather like classic Elton John...) and a pure buff Orpington mother hen (named Idril, for one of the elves in JRR Tolkien's worlds).

At first glance h/she (the chick) seems to have carried on most of the physical appearance genetics of the mother. Mostly pale buff now, but some darkness on the top of the head, by both eyes, and at the tips of one wing.

The chick had to come in overnight, and h/she is living in a box in my living room. Temps were going to drop close to freezing (35F/4C) overnight. Besides, mama was paying more attention to the hatchling and ignoring the unhatched.

The chick seems to be having trouble walking, however. I am seriously hoping I won't need to cull, because otherwise h/she is eager to live.

cutie

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

We've just finished a season where we had no fewer than 7 (different) broodies this year with one bantam pencil laced wyandotte going broody no less than 4 times. At one point she had her own chicks sitting on top of her in a nesting box after she had stolen another broody's eggs. She was so determine to sit on eggs again despite her own chicks being just 2 weeks old. She had 7 chicks at that point, all old English game bantam chicks. Sadly it was 5 cockerels and only 2 pullets one of whom was dead after we returned from our holiday despite someone coming in to look after them. She'd been ill and recovered, but not fully. We had 2 choices, cull her before we left or see what happened.. . I think she had only just died when we got home because there were no maggots or even flies. Shame because she was beautiful and so elegant. And identical to get sister in every way possible . It was a good line.

It was a topsy-turvy season here though sadly with one experienced mother killing a chick and attacking another of her own . She won't get another chance next year . I ended up handraising both hers and several others chicks, 10 in total. Another 2 are semi feral chooks so I let them have 1 chick to raise to 4 weeks old ,then it joins the others to try to socialise them. I can still tell my identical 2 buff sussex chicks apart. One runs a mile (though is getting better ), the other tries to trip me up all the time, though it's not as bad as the speckled sussex chick which runs towards me every single time it sees me. All but 2 will hand feed. Those two are the chicks of the feral chooks. The downside of rescuing chooks but next year is going to be very different because until we know about our visa situation I can't let any chook sit on eggs .

These were all hatched of the first few days of the new year ,so however many weeks into this year we are , they are that old .



They've still got some growing to do because the Sussex chicken line is a slow growing ,slow to mature line like wyandottes. They'll come off age during winter (southern hemisphere here) and hopefully give me some eggs earlier in the season, though I've currently got 3 who are still laying. All of the others have stopped, or were lost to a fox attack 6 weeks or so ago.

 

[Mountain Cat]

We've just finished a season where we had no fewer than 7 (different) broodies this year with one bantam pencil laced wyandotte going broody no less than 4 times. At one point she had her own chicks sitting on top of her in a nesting box after she had stolen another broody's eggs. She was so determine to sit on eggs again despite her own chicks being just 2 weeks old. She had 7 chicks at that point, all old English game bantam chicks. Sadly it was 5 cockerels and only 2 pullets one of whom was dead after we returned from our holiday despite someone coming in to look after them. She'd been ill and recovered, but not fully. We had 2 choices, cull her before we left or see what happened.. . I think she had only just died when we got home because there were no maggots or even flies. Shame because she was beautiful and so elegant. And identical to get sister in every way possible . It was a good line.

It was a topsy-turvy season here though sadly with one experienced mother killing a chick and attacking another of her own . She won't get another chance next year . I ended up handraising both hers and several others chicks, 10 in total. Another 2 are semi feral chooks so I let them have 1 chick to raise to 4 weeks old ,then it joins the others to try to socialise them. I can still tell my identical 2 buff sussex chicks apart. One runs a mile (though is getting better ), the other tries to trip me up all the time, though it's not as bad as the speckled sussex chick which runs towards me every single time it sees me. All but 2 will hand feed. Those two are the chicks of the feral chooks. The downside of rescuing chooks but next year is going to be very different because until we know about our visa situation I can't let any chook sit on eggs .

Wow. I figured hens could go broody just once or twice a season. New to all this.

How many chickens do you have, hens and roosters? I've 11 hens, one roo. Visa situation? You may have to leave Australia?

Your chickens are beautiful... I'm hoping to get speckled Sussex down the road.

My chick seems to be standing better today. I'm hoping she's a she, and that more of my hen's eggs hatch today. Besides her own eggs, I gave her two or three from other hens in the coop.

I do have a couple of hens who love to trip me up. Worse than cats!!!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Wow. I figured hens could go broody just once or twice a season. New to all this.

It's a case of hormones and how long she raises the chicks, if she even does. Other hens can hijack the chicks and raise them themselves which is why a broody hen should actually be separated from the rest of the flock whilst sitting on eggs (the rest will lay eggs on top of hers and eventually deprive the most likely to hatch eggs of heat, the all die . Keeping her separate from the rest of the flock once they have hatched is one of those debatable situations. Pros and cons of each .I've done both ,but the rest of the flock have always been able to see her and the chicks just not actually get to her. Keeps her in touch with the flock but helps her protect the chicks at the same time. Best for first time mums. If they are experienced and can be trusted I let them out around day 2 and get them back into the flock . Hand raised chicks are another matter. Again the flock should be able to see them and they them, but not access them until the chicks can fend for themselves and even then ,I prefer to supervise the first few sessions.

Visa situation? You may have to leave Australia?

We're from the UK. We came out on secondment 3 years ago on skilled worker visas. That is only ever valid for 4 years, after that you return or renew. You can't get the skilled worker visa in the way we had it before, but that's our backup option . Right now we're trying for a permanent residency visa. If it fails ,we'll try for another of the same as now but it's new version. Hubby works in a field that is in demand and we have chosen to live in an area that most people try to avoid (aka not one of the main cities in Australia but actually it's capital which ironically not many people want to live in and at last count only had a population of 300,000!

How many chickens do you have, hens and roosters?

Right now because of an issue whilst we were away we lost 15 chooks .most of our layers. They got locked out after free ranging whilst being looked after by someone else whilst we had 1 week away.
So currently we have 8 chooks, of whom 5 are considered retirees. 2 are over 6 years old, 2 more are 4 or 5 and the other is 3 or 4. So only 3 layers at present excluding the bantams (2 of ). So 10 adults and the 8 chicks above (we lost one earlier in the week. It just stopped eating and nothing we could do would convince it to eat or drink.). So just 18 currently. This time last year it was 40!
We've parted company with our roo because he was too fertile and didn't like our oldest girl (a rescue chook) and was driving her away from food all of the time. So he went . He was replaced by that cockerel died . Again just stopped eating and drinking and keeled over.

Hopefully you'll get some more hatch soon ,like very soon because otherwise you've lost the lot . Normally they hatch within a 3 day window of each other . Mum will want to leave the nest before long. Have you candled the eggs? It's a good way of removing the blanks and duds, plus any that have died before hatching. We always open every egg that fails to find out why. But always after candling and carefully if it's not a dud.

 

[Mountain Cat]

Yes, I did candle. All were fertile then. But I let her keep eggs up to about 4 days after taking on the first eggs to lay. I know now not to do that. Just let her only have eggs that she gets to brood over, only within a 12-24 (or less) hour period.

One thing that was not helpful on her part was that she decided for an unknown amount of time to nest in an inactive laying box, and her eggs were cold when I next saw them that date. I am hoping she has more than this one surviving chick, but the ones laid at the same date as the current survivor... I fear aren't going to make it.

I did mark each egg with a date. There were four eggs marked from the date my lone chick hatched from.

Thanks...

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Yes, I did candle. All were fertile then. But I let her keep eggs up to about 4 days after taking on the first eggs to lay. I know now not to do that. Just let her only have eggs that she gets to brood over, only within a 12-24 (or less) hour period

If eggs are fertile (by which I mean only that an active rooster is around) eggs can be upto 10 days old before they are set (put under a broody or in an incubator) and obviously from any hen (can be duck eggs as well) . After 10 days viability falls rapidly but isn't zero. I've set fertile eggs up to 14 days old under a broody and had good results.

How long had the eggs been under the broody when you candled them ?
Can you actually see anything inside of them ?
How many times have you candled them ? It's recommended to be done 3 times during incubation.

If you candle them now, can you see anything moving? This can include blood moving in the veins of the egg itself (they lead to the membrane around the egg and I have noticed that you can sometimes see these move when you're holding the egg perfectly still .) can you see a chick? Often you can see them move as well .

You'll have to call it after 3 or 4 days just for the sake of the single chick and the sitting broody. Is it with its mum yet ? You'll have to be careful she doesn't reject it if it isn't yet back with her . Ask around (FB is good for this ) and see if anyone has a spare chick of the same age. It needs a friend. They are social birds and it will die without another one to keep it company. It and the new one can be introduced to mum one night (ideally before they are a week old and absolutely only whilst mum is sitting on eggs). A hour or so before you go to bed, put mum in a box (on the eggs as well) and sneak the chicks under her without her seeing them. It's easy to do if you pick it up with the palm of your hand facing you and use your hand to hide the chick under whilst you put the chick under a wing from behind her. Repeat with the other chick keeping them together . You want a box so that they can't get out (accidentally) during the night . The idea is that she wakes up in the morning with 2 chicks. I usually go for something big enough to contain water and chick starter and have space for mum to stand up . As the chicks get more mobile, the side of the broody nesting box can be lowered. (another reason for not leaving them in a layers nesting box which typically isn't on the ground, it's a long drop down with no way back up.) making it easier to get in and out etc.
Yell if you need help . Pm me , I get emails that way which I'll see sooner.

 

[Mountain Cat]

I sent you a message, I think it went through the pm system. I left you a lot more details than what I state below.

Since the chick has foot problems, she's indoors with splints. And she does have company, just not from "litter", er, clutch mates. A previously-ordered batch of day old chicks arrived yesterday. This really perked her up, especially once I moved the excess number to the "real" brooder. No, none of her clutch mates have hatched as of this moment.

One reason I was happy for Mama to go broody was that these chicks would conveniently hatch at about the same time as the order was to arrive.

 

[Mewmew]

My hen, Idril, hatched out a baby chick yesterday.

She'd gone broody and I allowed her to keep eggs, so here we have the first of what may be several. The egg had been laid either April 6th or 7th.

The chick is a silver-laced Wyandotte x buff Orpington F1 cross. In simpler English, she is the first filial hybrid offspring of a pure silver-laced Wyandotte rooster (who was named Tiny Dancer, as when I'd gotten him as a day old chick, he'd been the smallest of the batch, and I rather like classic Elton John...) and a pure buff Orpington mother hen (named Idril, for one of the elves in JRR Tolkien's worlds).

At first glance h/she (the chick) seems to have carried on most of the physical appearance genetics of the mother. Mostly pale buff now, but some darkness on the top of the head, by both eyes, and at the tips of one wing.

The chick had to come in overnight, and h/she is living in a box in my living room. Temps were going to drop close to freezing (35F/4C) overnight. Besides, mama was paying more attention to the hatchling and ignoring the unhatched.

The chick seems to be having trouble walking, however. I am seriously hoping I won't need to cull, because otherwise h/she is eager to live.

Awwwwwwww...! She's cute! ❤

 

[Mountain Cat]

She still is. I'm hoping she can be saved, as she has a splayed leg. She's a fighter. (I keep assuming this one is a girl...)

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I've just remembered that we've did have one with a splay leg that we honestly thought we'd have to put down but we noticed a little improvement everyday and after a couple of weeks the chick although smaller than the others actually recovered fully . Now we can't tell which one of the 3 pullets (girls ) it was although the 4th was culled as soon as we realised it was male (it was culled primarily because of the problems it was causing in the flock rather than the fact it was male).
The one with the splay leg was that bad the initially it was unable to keep up with the other chicks or even walk (walking took it about a week and it was really knocked over by the others at first). We had to take it to food and water a three or four times a day at first. Then it learned how to move using its good leg to push it's self around the brooder box. Finally it worked out how to stand whilst leaning against the side of the box.. . After the first week it was independent of us but it has been the only one with splay leg that has ever recovered. It's in our flock now ,one of three lavender sussex pullets.

 

[Mountain Cat]

I've just remembered that we've did have one with a splay leg that we honestly thought we'd have to put down but we noticed a little improvement everyday and after a couple of weeks the chick although smaller than the others actually recovered fully . Now we can't tell which one of the 3 pullets (girls ) it was although the 4th was culled as soon as we realised it was male (it was culled primarily because of the problems it was causing in the flock rather than the fact it was male).
The one with the splay leg was that bad the initially it was unable to keep up with the other chicks or even walk (walking took it about a week and it was really knocked over by the others at first). We had to take it to food and water a three or four times a day at first. Then it learned how to move using its good leg to push it's self around the brooder box. Finally it worked out how to stand whilst leaning against the side of the box.. . After the first week it was independent of us but it has been the only one with splay leg that has ever recovered. It's in our flock now ,one of three lavender sussex pullets.

Cool. I'm working with "her" and going down to make sure she has as much food access as the others. They don't seem to push over the water access, but they all love the food. So I make sure there's two or three food access points (I'm using a larger-bird feeder atm). She's still the same size as the rest. As long as she's willing to fight, I'm willing to help her. Knowing that the toes are fine now... I can only hope!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Cool. I'm working with "her" and going down to make sure she has as much food access as the others. They don't seem to push over the water access, but they all love the food. So I make sure there's two or three food access points (I'm using a larger-bird feeder atm). She's still the same size as the rest. As long as she's willing to fight, I'm willing to help her. Knowing that the toes are fine now... I can only hope!

One thing you can do to help with regards to water is actually to soak the chick starter overnight (ours is same volume water to starter ) and give them moist food. But you say water access isn't too much of a problem. Just make sure it gets enough water. That's just as important as food if not more so.

I've pm'ed you some physio exercises you can give her too help with recovery .

 

[Mountain Cat]

Update on the little chick.

She/he is thriving (as far as growing and getting nutrition). The exercises SatNavSaysStraight have provided are helping, and he/she's moving better -- but still has severe issues maneuvering. Better, but not best. Her left leg is perfect, it's the right one at this point.

I'm willing to keep working with her as long as he/she's willing to work at it.

My first broody hen dropped broodiness and a second hen is now broody. So immediate I didn't get to do the full-coop cleanout I wanted to do -- we are staying with Deep Bedding atm. She has 5 eggs which I will candle tonight (Day 9) assuming she lets me. I'm out of town the next three days so I'll check again when I get back Sunday. (I have an experienced chicken-sitter lined up.)

I am trying not to get too attached - if this is a cockerel, my layers already have a dominant rooster, and I don't have the facilities to overwinter a second rooster. NO NAMING the chick!

EDIT: Overwintering: We had about a couple inches of snow up here last Sunday! Our first snow last fall was mid November.