Hen egg hatching plans (eggs of diff ages)

[gimmie birdies]

I am just listing my hens hatching egg plans.

I went on a vacation to Las Vegas last week, leaving some fertile eggs with one hen that was about 2 weeks along. And I didn't have anyone collecting eggs for a few days. When I got back the eggs I had left the hen with were cold. I candled them, and one still looked viable so I gave it back to the hen. I candled all the eggs laid while I was gone, most had not been sat on, and 2 hens were broody. Since I didn't see any development in the eggs, I gave the 2 broodies some of the eggs. Now the first single egg looks like it is in the air cell might be a couple of days, and some of the other eggs look to be developing. I can see little veins starting in the other eggs. (In a few days I will candle again and remove the duds.) My plan is when the chick hatches, I am going to let the bantam hen be a mom and the other full sized hen can sit on and finish hatching her eggs, (totaling 9-10). Hens should not have too many more eggs than that.

The egg due to hatch is BCM/LO/blue cochin mix. the hen pictured is not the mother.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A hen will abandon unhatched eggs a couple days after the first hatch to care for the chick/s.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

 

[gimmie birdies]

No I have 2 hens, one hen will get the chick, the other hen will get the eggs both are currently sitting on. about 10 total. I will separate the hen and the chick so the eggs sitter will not hear them, I never expected one hen to hatch one chick and 3 weeks later hatch and raise more, read first then give advise thanks....

 

[Kendrasueh]

My hen is sitting on eggs of different ages. They started hatching three days ago and she has 3 babies. She shows no sign of leaving the nest to feed her babies. Should I take the rest of the eggs away?

 

[gimmie birdies]

Take the babies away, till the other eggs hatch. You can re-bond them later. I have had hens and chicks bond at 3-4 weeks before as long as you do it in the night.

 

[gimmie birdies]

My little BCM egg hatched- the single one, it's a girl. The mom had let it crawl to a back section of the nest box. She is keeping her eggs, I am warming the chick up on a heating pad. When she is warmed up and eating, I will take mom's eggs (that won't hatch for a while)and give them to a diff broody, then this mom can raise her single chick.

 

[gimmie birdies]

This is the chick, I am going to call the Bora Bora, since she doesn't have a name, but she is on a quilt that says Bora Bora. She was very limp when I found her, now she is very peepy.

 

[gimmie birdies]