# psycho broody



## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

It's been a VERY long day.. PLEASE tell me that I am not the only one who has had a broody turn psycho before!?!

It's frustrating how having one go psycho can really mess up everything! Eggs under the broody that hatched a couple days ago.. her ONE chick in the brooder so mama would stay on the eggs.. they were ALL pipped but one. Lost one chick, saved 2..helped 2 but unsure if they will make it.. have 3 pipping..moving but bleeding so I am afraid to help them.. WHAT a DAY!! Anyone else have days like this? Surely I can't be the only one!


----------



## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

aww geez, am I really the only one who had a broody turn on her chicks? Ended up helping the other 3.. so all 5 that we helped are in the bator (sure hope they make it through the night!) with these two under mama and doing well. Thankful I was right there when mama decided to snap. The little blue one was the one mama attacked. Think it's name is now Lucky.. as it was lucky I saved it before mama took another shot at it.


----------



## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

Wow, I've never had a hen go nuts on her own chicks before. Other chicks, sure, but trying to kill her own, especially as they pipped? That's wild. I wouldn't ever be letting her hatch again. Good grief. 
Fingers crossed for the peeps, though! Poor little dears.


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

First time being a Mom for her? That's when it can happen is with the first clutch as it begins to hatch. They think its because they don't quite understand that they are her chicks and not monsters showing up under her.

I had one do that, killed one of her chicks, scalped another. Her next clutch she was just fine. Actually I still have that hen, she's co-raising some chicks my Silkie hatched.


----------



## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

I have never seen the like of that, Robin! Good heavens. My broodiness always just took to them right off the hop, it was the chick-less hens I had to worry about.


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I only had it happen the one time. That's having had a LOT of successful first time Moms hatch. So, its not common but it does happen.

The Hamburg that killed the one chick and scalped the other? I took everything still alive that she hatched put them in a brooder, tucked the rest of her eggs under a Silkie. The scalped chick was down to the bone but it survived. 

After taking her chicks and eggs she got off the nest and never asked for them. Next time around, she was the best Mom.


----------



## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

Oh I am so glad I am not alone Robin! It was such an emotional roller coaster! Not to mention.. trying to figure out what would be the best thing to do for the eggs that were all pipped but one (turned out to be a dud) Yep.. her first.. I wasn't going to let her try again but maybe I should? I have never seen her act that way! She is my 4 yr old's Barred Rock.. sweet as pie! Didn't even growl while she was broody.. I knew something was up when she was growling (not talking like other mamas but a growl like looking under a broody silkie!) and looking under her. The second she saw that chick she let out a screech (reminded me of when they see a snake or mouse right before they attack it!) then tried to go to town on it. Luckily I was right there and got it before a second open beak attack. She is now walking around like nothing ever happened :-(
We ended up helping the other 3 that were pipped last night. ALL 5 are now walking around in the bator. Still weak and have veins for tails. This morning they were still attached to the shells by the vein that was bleeding.. I still had the humidity high so I dropped it and they lost the shells as the vein dried but it is still there. Hoping they will continue to dry/shrink and they will gain strength so they can go under their surrogate mama! Considering we had to help all 5 and they experienced a lot of blood loss, (by that time it was try or they WOULD shrink wrap) I am shocked! 7/8 made it this far! The one that didn't was gone before we helped them. Not too bad from a "when Nature goes Psycho" event!


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The only thing I could see you doing is being on high alert like I was the next time my girl went broody. A couple of days before the peeps hatch she may be doing some very quiet talking, if she does then you can feel more confident that things are going to be OK. 

I don't think anyone knows for certain why this happens with the first hatch. Maybe its just too soon and not all of the hormones are in place to continue on to the raising part. 

BTW, next time it would be safer to let them shrink wrap than remove them from the eggs before they're ready. Even a couple of drops of blood is a lot of volume for creatures so tiny. And it takes them a lot to rebuild that volume.


----------



## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

ok so like I did with her and the rest of my broodies then? All have been first time mamas so I was nervous as ever! It was so odd.. nothing was different with her, until it was almost hatched! She was soft talking and everything. I sure hope next time will be different! 

These poor lil guys.. you could see the clear membrane literally strinking around them. We had watched them for hours and hours.. and when they got to the point they weren't cheeping (even when close by mama was trying to talk to them) or us.. and hardly moving anymore.. we didn't think they could make it through the night like that. Sadly we were too late for one.. it had shrinked and was dry already. We had been having issues with our bator and the chicks were drying out after the internal pip, even though the humidity was min 65% so that also played into us hatching these. We took about 2 hrs and slowly hatched these.. when they started bleeding we would put them back in the bator until it stopped.. then tried again. We left the part of the shell that was attached by the vein attached. We had had a little silkie bleed on it's own last Sat pretty bad while zipping in the bator so we tried to mimic how it hatched. I knew blood loss was def a gamble but thought a shrink wrap was a for sure loss?


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Chicks will go through a resting phase, getting quiet is not a sign of impending loss. I know these guys were a bit of an issue because they didn't start off with the bator which complicates timing. If they are stuck they will cry in distress. That's when I would step in and help. So, no shrink wrapping is not a sure sign of loss. Its if we don't recognize the cries for help that may lead to it.

If you're having these kinds of issues there is a chance your thermo is reading lower than the actual temp.


----------



## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

Aww I think I might have waited too long then..they were going crazy most of the afternoon yesterday.. then come late last night nothing had changed in progression.. but I could see how the outer membrane was turning brown and the clear one was sucked against them. They had all stopped fighting and peeping..NONE had even zipped although they had a big hole.. that I think mama did...but the two that had hatched under mama hours before. we had watched them a little after that as I didn't want to help them. When we noticed one didn't even look like it was breathing when we decided we didn't have a choice.. sadly that was the one we lost. What I was so worried about was them moving around after they had pipped.. from mama to bator then under broody as I couldn't get the humidity up fast enough.. then back to the bator. I really didn't think ANY would survive the hatch. Crazy day for sure! IF these would have been just bator eggs.. or even under mama I either wouldn't have helped at all or at least waited until this morning to see if anything had changed. I honestly had no idea what to do so I followed my gut. Next time I won't give up on the eggs so early and keep the bator plugged in!

It is a homemade bator and I honestly think we figured out that our vents are interfering with the fan in it.. like it is sucking the air in one spot type of thing. We hatched 15/21 on Sat and the ones that were left (all but one BCM which I couldn't candle well and it turned into a dud) all had internal pipped but never got to the external pip before dying. They were all in the back of the bator.. same side as the fan, just opposite ends. Those were the exact spots where when the turner was in there, they didn't develop at all so something is def up! Didn't figure that out until AFTER the hatch though. We def need to do some adjusting but I didn't even think these would hatch since it was day 24 (yep, everyone else hatched on day 20 and were all put under and in at the same time.. including another broody) they are all 5 now digging into the fermented food and have found the water in there.. I have hope! 
They actually look better than our little silkie, that was bleeding during zipping in the bator (that we didn't help) ever did. It's been failing to thrive since hatch no matter what I do. Think it might have lost more blood than these little ones per size of chick any way. Before this, I have helped 6 and lost 4 but think the others had development or genetic issues as they were our first eggs and the LG still air was terrible for spikes and drops! One of the two we saved even had the yolk still attached but was stuck in the egg for at least 30 hrs. He turned into a beautiful roo! The last one will be 6 weeks friday.. mama had left the nest but buried them all first.. I was cleaning the nest and taking out the cold eggs.. one talked to us so we helped it. It's def the runt but is full of spunk. Think these guys might need a little extra time before putting them under mama but think they will make it. Live and Learn I guess! Sadly though, besides keeping the bator up and running, I am not sure what else I could have done differently?


----------

