HELP. 1 chicken hatch other eggs only at day 12 - please read

Mixed Pen

In the Brooder
6 Years
Dec 17, 2013
75
1
43
AUSTRALIA
Hi...
So i had a hen on eggs, she hatched 8 (1 died after hatch) and 1 egg which i always felt was slower developing did not hatch around day 19/20 with the rest, the hen took her chicks off the nest for a quiter location away from the flock, leaving the unhatched egg), it hatched today at day 23, i had assumed that it was dead after she left it (i did candle it day 17 and no obvious movement) but i decided to sit it under another broody hen who was on eggs that are now day 12, and the darn chick hatched, which i thought might be okay because another hen wanted to play mother when the first clutch hatched, so i thought she might try to steel this one too, but she has not, so now i have a hen on one chick and eggs that still have over a week to go, what do i do, mum is sure to want to get off the nest in the next 24-48hrs and then i will have eggs that are nearly there..
WHAT DO I DO??
I have ordered an incubator that may turn up this week, but knowing my luck it wont come til next week...
 
Don't let the hen leave the unhatched eggs. Take the chick away from her before she gets ideas and see if the mom with the hatched chicks will adopt it. I have had mixed success getting hens to add to their clutches, but if she's a good mom she may. What I do is walk up to the hen and carefully put the chick down on the ground, close enough so she can see it, but far enough away so I can snatch it back if she attacks it. The chick will start cheeping and the hen will hopefully call it to her. If she's o.k. with the chick stay with them for at least 10 minutes and make sure the chick is o.k. and it's instincts have kicked in.

If this does not work, you will have to raise the chick yourself and try and talk the second hen into adopting it when her clutch hatches. Good luck!
 
so yesterday hen was happy with chick, kept an eye on it throughout the day, alway near by, but not with other chickens are they are a bit bigger, and this mroning, went to check, it was by itsself but when we went near it we were attacked, but then i went back to have a closer inspection just now chick has been pecked so is not in the brooder box.. :-(
 

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