Help my momma isn't keeping her eggs warm

[wetzelbuilt]

My momma chicken has been sitting on eggs for 24 days . Last night one of them pipped and today I found it cold and dead. Another one piped and it got cold and died as well. What do I do to help the others hatch successfully. The mama won't keep them warm

 

[Bryam]

Put them in an incubator ASAP!

 

[junebuggena]

Not every broody hen will be good at incubating eggs or caring for chicks. Since they are hatching several days past the 21 day mark, it suggests that she hasn't been sitting on those eggs consistently enough. Get those eggs in an incubator ASAP.

 

[wetzelbuilt]

I don't have one....I put the in a basket wrapped in a towel on top of our pellet stove inside our house. It is warming them but not sure if it will be enough

 

[Elise Lefort]

Well we need to get you a little giant incubator stat

 

[Latestarter]

On top of the pellet stove might end up giving you baluts without the burying and drying time. How can you accurately regulate temp or humidity?

 

[junebuggena]

I don't have one....I put the in a basket wrapped in a towel on top of our pellet stove inside our house. It is warming them but not sure if it will be enough

On top of the stove?! That's probably going to be too warm. They need a temp of about 99*, which is just slightly warmer than human body temp. The other issue is humidity. Hatching eggs need a humid environment to successfully hatch. Too dry and the membranes will shrink wrap the chick, preventing it from being able to move enough to hatch.

 

[wetzelbuilt]

I have to admit this is our first broody hen so I have NO idea what to do

 

[wetzelbuilt]

Also we are in Ohio and its below freezing

 

[junebuggena]

Might not be anything you really can do. If you don't have an incubator, and can't provide the environment needed to hatch, just leave the eggs under her and hope that something makes it. Chalk it up to a learning experience. First time broodies are a gamble. Some are great. Some hens take a few tries to get it right. And some hens will never be reliable mothers. That's just the way it goes.