This morning I discovered the parent cock bird dead in the nest with the mother and the 5 soon to hatch eggs.

 

He had shown no indicators of illness, and the hen seems fine.

 

Is there a strategy to assist the mum and the babies?

 

The birds are part of our family, so if anyone has any advice, I would really appreciate it.

 

Stuart

i can't really give you advice because i'm not an expert but i once had a hen who's partner died when she had new born chicks she looked after all well as they hatched and kept them all fed up until about 2-3 when she abandoned the nest and chicks and didnt feed them... one died of starvation before we'd checked them that day and the others were close to it... but we rescued them and hand reared them the rest of the way.. i've been told a hen can look after chicks on her own it just makes it harder... but i'd definatly say keep an eye on her and them so it doesnt happen to you what happened to ours good luck with it though and let us know how it goes

 

libby

Sorry, cannot assist you Stuart, but the bonafide breeders should log in later and give you helpful info regarding your situation. :ygbudgie:

If you have a another hen (or two) I would foster some of the eggs to them to lighten the load.

 

A hen if a good parent can take over the care of the babies themselves. To make it easier on her a small dish of food right at the entrance to the box so she doesn't have to travel far for food and even adding some millet spray in the box.

 

As libby states some do not carry on raising them and so I would suggest reading up on hand feeding ( or finding a breeder that could show you) and getting some mixture from a pet store ready.

Stuart, if the hen is in a breeding cabinet and not breeding colony style she should be fine to raise the babies. However, it depends on the hen. Some hens just keep going and raise the family, and some give up. I had the same situation as you just a couple of days ago (in a breeder cabinet though ) and the hen decided on day two alone to start eating the eggs. They were fertile I put it down to stress and removed her and put the eggs under another hen. See how you go. Let us know what happens.

Edited September 4, 200717 yr by **KAZ**

Sorry, cannot assist you Stuart, but the bonafide breeders should log in later and give you helpful info regarding your situation. :ygbudgie:

Thank-you Phoebe

If you have a another hen (or two) I would foster some of the eggs to them to lighten the load.A hen if a good parent can take over the care of the babies themselves. To make it easier on her a small dish of food right at the entrance to the box so she doesn't have to travel far for food and even adding some millet spray in the box. As libby states some do not carry on raising them and so I would suggest reading up on hand feeding ( or finding a breeder that could show you) and getting some mixture from a pet store ready.

Thank-you NerwenI do have another hen who seems to be having difficulty producing eggs in another breeding box. I'll move maybe 2 of the 5 eggs across to her. I will also set up the widowed hen's food right at the nest entrance.

Stuart, if the hen is in a breeding cabinet and not breeding colony style she should be fine to raise the babies. However, it depends on the hen. Some hens just keep going and raise the family, and some give up. I had the same situation as you just a couple of days ago (in a breeder cabinet though ) and the hen decided on day two alone to start eating the eggs. They were fertile I put it down to stress and removed her and put the eggs under another hen. See how you go. Let us know what happens.

Thank-you Kaz.I will keep you posted on developments.Stuart

Thank-you NerwenI do have another hen who seems to be having difficulty producing eggs in another breeding box. I'll move maybe 2 of the 5 eggs across to her.

 

Stuart,

You can only really move eggs to another hen if that hen already has at least one egg of her own. Thats the way they work and the way she will accept the eggs. If the hen hasnt any eggs yet she may not accept them. It would be rare for a hen to take on eggs in this way.

Thank-you NerwenI do have another hen who seems to be having difficulty producing eggs in another breeding box. I'll move maybe 2 of the 5 eggs across to her.

 

Stuart,

You can only really move eggs to another hen if that hen already has at least one egg of her own. Thats the way they work and the way she will accept the eggs. If the hen hasnt any eggs yet she may not accept them. It would be rare for a hen to take on eggs in this way.

 

 

okay then.

 

I will just continue looking after mum and monitoring the chicks when they arrive.

 

Thank-you Kaz.

Stuart, is this hen in a colony breeding situation ? If so, there will be a lot of stress on her to try and raise these chicks alone and try to protect her nest all at the same time.