I posted this under 'My First Egg' topic in the Breeders Chat, but thought this it was probably more appropriate to do it here.

 

Well everything was fine when I got home, but I found the oldest chick dead this morning.

 

It appeared healthy, then I noticed a tear near one of it's legs.

 

 

 

To me it doesn't appear as though this chick was attacked, but I may be wrong. I inspected the other chick very closely and it is fine.

 

My thoughts as to why this may have occured are that the chick:

 

- Had a deformity

- Was trodden on by the cock (he's always in the nestbox) and/or the nest box is too small

- Was nipped by the hen or the cock

 

I haven't done anything except remove the dead chick. I am wondering whether I should:

 

- Remove the cock

- Change the nestbox (I made bigger one's to the specs on this site)

 

Any help would be appreciated.

No ideas from me. Just wanted to say sorry, poor little mite

I could be wrong but that cut or tear looks like it happened somehow in the egg or upon hatching and may not have been noticed once hatched. Infection would have already happened if this is the case. If it happened in the nest there would be evidence of fresh blood/ bleeding. I dont think the Dad is at fault. I dont think a Dad stepping on a baby would do that anyway as parents step all over the babies and the babies cope with it.

Best not to change a nestbox drastically once there is chicks in it.

Thanks guys.

 

Kaz - I didn't think it was the cock or hen - as you said there's no blood. I didn't think about getting cut by the shell - that might explain it. The chick was a tough little character then, as it appeared healthy enough and lasted for 3 days.

 

Oh well - hopefully it was just a one-off and I'll leave the setup as is. But I'll be checking my chicks more thoroughly in future.

Hard to say what happened to this little mite. As Kaz said I wouldn't change nest box now, you said you had 6 eggs ? If you change things now you risk the others. Put it down to the trial's of breeding and see how you go with the rest. Chick looked to have full crop etc so parent's must be on the ball that way. Good luck with other eggs and post to let us know how you get on.

Thanks Robyn.

 

Just one thought - the shells from the first two hatchlings are still in the nest - should I remove them?

Thanks Robyn.

 

Just one thought - the shells from the first two hatchlings are still in the nest - should I remove them?

 

Yes... you should always remove the shells from hatched chicks. They can get stuck on other eggs and prevent them from hatching.

 

P.S. Really sorry for your loss, they're always hard to take