Posted August 18, 200817 yr I had a chick hatch sometime between 7am and 11am. The first time Mum has not fed the chick as yet. I have used the cock before and he was a good dad but he doesn't seem interested in the chick this time either. How long do I leave the unfed chick with them to see if they feed it? I have another hen I can foster to who is sitting on eggs but her eggs aren't due to hatch until 25th - is that to long apart for her?
August 18, 200817 yr If the chick is weak it needs to be fed. You can do it yourself with some very diluted handrearing formula. If you can warm it and put it near the beak opening it will suck it in ( watch out for nostrils ) . If you do this and see the creamy bubble of food in its crop...if you can do this for its first couple of feeds ( at the nestbox not take it away ) and then it becomes stronger and cries out for food and the mother feeds it all should be well. BUT if you are worried and you have the other hen,....if you distract the foster hen and put the chick and part of the eggshell in her nest she will thinks its her first one hatched. Let me know how it goes Edited August 18, 200817 yr by KAZ
August 19, 200817 yr Author I gave the little chick 2 feeds with the diluted handrearing formula while the mother looked at me stupidly, then after a couple of hours I checked last night and it seemed that the hen had feed the chick. Checked this morning and nothing, so I feed it some more handrearing formula in the hope the mother would again do her job, noooo when I checked an hour later it looked like she was playing soccer with the poor little thing. My husband distracted the other hen I'm using as a foster Mum and I put the 2 half shells and the chick in her nest box with the other 2 eggs she's sitting on she had a feed and went back into the nest and she is feeding it, so fingers crossed that's it's doing okay when I check later.
August 19, 200817 yr I gave the little chick 2 feeds with the diluted handrearing formula while the mother looked at me stupidly, then after a couple of hours I checked last night and it seemed that the hen had feed the chick. Checked this morning and nothing, so I feed it some more handrearing formula in the hope the mother would again do her job, noooo when I checked an hour later it looked like she was playing soccer with the poor little thing. My husband distracted the other hen I'm using as a foster Mum and I put the 2 half shells and the chick in her nest box with the other 2 eggs she's sitting on she had a feed and went back into the nest and she is feeding it, so fingers crossed that's it's doing okay when I check later. Great news :hap: Once all is well remove the half shells as they may wrap around the other eggs and stop them hatching.
August 19, 200817 yr Author Great news Once all is well remove the half shells as they may wrap around the other eggs and stop them hatching. Checked about and hour ago and the chick's crop was full and the foster Mum is happy as larry. This hen eats the shells so I don't have to worry about removing them. Thanks Kaz
August 19, 200817 yr Watch the hen when her next eggs hatches, if she seems to not feed the second one again, try giving it to the foster & giving the larger chick back to her as she may then get the idea. You will have to hope she starts to feed otherwise unless you have other pairs the foster wont be able to feed them & her own when they hatch. I have never bothered doing the thing with the eggshell & never had them not accept the chick; sometimes the shell has already been cleaned up anyway. Good luck.
August 19, 200817 yr I had a chick hatch sometime between 7am and 11am. The first time Mum has not fed the chick as yet. I have used the cock before and he was a good dad but he doesn't seem interested in the chick this time either. How long do I leave the unfed chick with them to see if they feed it? I have another hen I can foster to who is sitting on eggs but her eggs aren't due to hatch until 25th - is that to long apart for her? The question Denise asked about them being too far apart??? What was the answer to that. What happens when the foster mom's chick's start to hatch and this "foster chick" is so much bigger and powerful then the new babies? Won't this foster chick end up killing the new babies?
August 20, 200817 yr Great Advice Norm ... Sometimes it takes an older chicks cry (* chirp) to kick the mum's into feefing them ... Chrissy,No, This has never happened to me before
August 20, 200817 yr Author Watch the hen when her next eggs hatches, if she seems to not feed the second one again, try giving it to the foster & giving the larger chick back to her as she may then get the idea. You will have to hope she starts to feed otherwise unless you have other pairs the foster wont be able to feed them & her own when they hatch. I have never bothered doing the thing with the eggshell & never had them not accept the chick; sometimes the shell has already been cleaned up anyway. Good luck. It was her last egg, so don't have to worry about that. She only laid 3, first was clear, 2nd develop a hole and chick was DIS and the 3rd hatched and unfortunately the mother must have known best about not feeding it as when I checked on the foster mum this morning the chick was dead, had a full crop but not alive.
August 20, 200817 yr Sorry to hear about the chick you tried so hard to help. Just wondering if this may be a bad pairing, maybe things would be better if cock and hen were paired to different partners? Does anyone have any comments? Carolyn alais: Budgielover13
August 20, 200817 yr Author Sorry to hear about the chick you tried so hard to help. Just wondering if this may be a bad pairing, maybe things would be better if cock and hen were paired to different partners? Does anyone have any comments?Carolyn alais: Budgielover13 I have used the cock before and he was an excellent father, but he wanted nothing to do with this chick either which makes me think that the parents know when the chick is no good. The hen was a first timer, she is 18 months old. I will leave them in the breeding cage to see if they have another round or not.
August 20, 200817 yr Watch the hen when her next eggs hatches, if she seems to not feed the second one again, try giving it to the foster & giving the larger chick back to her as she may then get the idea. You will have to hope she starts to feed otherwise unless you have other pairs the foster wont be able to feed them & her own when they hatch. I have never bothered doing the thing with the eggshell & never had them not accept the chick; sometimes the shell has already been cleaned up anyway. Good luck. It was her last egg, so don't have to worry about that. She only laid 3, first was clear, 2nd develop a hole and chick was DIS and the 3rd hatched and unfortunately the mother must have known best about not feeding it as when I checked on the foster mum this morning the chick was dead, had a full crop but not alive. Very sorry to hear that Denise
August 20, 200817 yr Author Very sorry to hear that Denise Thanks Kaz, I'm much better at dealing with it this year than I was when I started breeding last year. Still working on getting the youngest 2 boys to deal with it
August 20, 200817 yr Sorry to hear about the loss of your little bub Denise.... you tryed so hard to save it too well done for your efforts....hopfully next clutch will go better regards John & Swanacilli .
August 20, 200817 yr Ohhh Deb. Sorry mate ... But i think that you are right with the parents "Knowing" I have had a few of these in my time ( lol i sound like an old breeder heheh) But the parents have gone the next round to produce healthy well feed chicks
August 20, 200817 yr Sorry it didn’t make it Denise, if I were you I would give it another chance like you say you will, often a first batch wont be successful, something sounds wrong in the fact that only three eggs were laid. Often they will get going successfully on the second batch. Best of luck.
August 21, 200817 yr Author Sorry it didn't make it Denise, if I were you I would give it another chance like you say you will, often a first batch wont be successful, something sounds wrong in the fact that only three eggs were laid. Often they will get going successfully on the second batch. Best of luck. Yes Norm I'm not having great results from this round. I won't start breeding until after winter next year, the cold is the only thing different from earlier in the year and I got a lot of chicks. Although this lot are all either first time hens or first time cocks so ???
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