Help! I have chirping eggs!

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tammyjbiggs

tammyjbiggs

Hatching
Aug 16, 2016
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I have had chickens (hens & roosters) for a few years, never had a broody hen until now. She was a chick herself back in February, so she's a first time mom.

I heard chirping in the chicken coop and saw that some eggs had hatched, 11 of them. I wasn't really prepared for this at all! 3 chicks were outside of the box and couldn't get back in, so I decided I needed to move them. When I did, I pulled out the rest of the eggs and put them in the box. I had some things I needed to get done and I needed to research how to properly destroy them so none of them would suffer if there was an embryo in them. When I picked up the box a few hours later, I heard chirping. I immediately brought them in and learned how to candle them. I put all of the dark ones in a box, in the bathroom with my radiant heater turned up to 95 and the humidifier on. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do next.
 
Its possibly a little late now (not sure) but if you try putting the eggs back with momma and her chicks and secure the original nest area, so the chicks can't escape, she may be likely to continue brooding them. Whilst chicks generally hatch within 24 hours of each other, there are some late arrivals here and there.
 
She is not very nice, she was really hard to move. The other reason I moved them is because there isn't a place to put food and water for them inside the box. I was hoping they might have a chance since they are chirping still...

She is in an area now where there is room with food and water, but I'm worried if I try to place the chicks with her she won't stay on then because she's trending to the others.

Next time, I'll be more prepared...
 
In my experience, a momma will sit even though some of the chicks have hatched. Chicks do not need food or water for at least 36 hours after hatching.
 
tammyjbiggs said:
She is not very nice, she was really hard to move. The other reason I moved them is because there isn't a place to put food and water for them inside the box. I was hoping they might have a chance since they are chirping still...

She is in an area now where there is room with food and water, but I'm worried if I try to place the chicks with her she won't stay on then because she's trending to the others.

Next time, I'll be more prepared...
Click to expand...
Baby chicks don't normally need food and water for the first 72 hours of life. While it requires 21 full 24 hour days for a chick to pip and maybe hatch nature has a built in 3 day buffer that allows the new chicks to dry off and rest up after the strenuous ordeal of hatching is complete. So any new chick will normally be fine if it spends it's first 72 hours of life hanging out underneath its mama. If you can avoid disturbing your sitting hen she knows better than every vet on planet Earth when its time for her to leave the nest.
 
I'll know that for next time :) There are a couple of them pecking holes in the shell, so we'll see...
 
Still at least 2 alive and pecking. I'll try to set up my hen better so I can put eggs back under her today. Should I leave the ones that have broke through their shell in my makeshift incubator?
 
3 chicks hatched, waiting for them to dry off to put them and the other unpipped eggs in with the hen and chicks. Hope all goes well....
 

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