Hen hatched chicks - went to move nest to safe place and discovered unhatched eggs - will they hatch

[katieducklady]

I've been a long time thread reader on backyard chickens but this is my first post (so hello!) I've raised ducklings and chickens and had a hen of my own hatch 6 babies, so I'm not necessarily new at raising chickens/chicks but we had a situation at my parents house tonight and now I'm really worried.

My mom has raised chickens for a few years now but she's always got her chicks by mail. Her hens free range during the day and one broody hen started sitting on eggs in an awful spot (to us anyway, it was probably great to her). In a dark corner of the barn, on the dirt floor, underneath a draft horse cart on the other side of the wheel. It has been around 21 days and this morning my mom discovered chicks. She left her to sit all day but we were worried about keeping her and the babies safe. She has 2 big dogs who could easily reach her nest (although we couldn't) and she didn't want them to get to them. So we did what we thought was best, figured she was done hatching and lifted her out to move her and the babies to a safer spot. As we were moving the babies (seven of them!!!) we discovered that there were 3 eggs that were in the hatching process. Got nervous and gently moved them under mama hen in her new spot too. As we were doing so the mom pecked at an egg as we were putting it in and pecked at at least one of her chicks too

I'm SO worried that we did the wrong thing. We didn't realize there were still eggs hatching until we were almost done, by that point we didn't know what to do so we moved them and prayed for the best. In hindsight we should've waited but it all happened so fast and now the damage is done and all I can do is pray. At least one of the eggs I could see movement in (the shell was cracked open but there was still a thin membrane over it, but I saw what looked like breathing as I quickly moved it. Has anyone encountered this? Do these eggs stand a chance???

 

[bobbi-j]

It's possible that they might still hatch. I'd just let them be and check tomorrow. Either they'll hatch or they won't. There's not much you can do about it. Something to think about in the future - if you need to move a nest again, it generally works best to move them at night, and I'd move them earlier in the incubation period.

 

[katieducklady]

Thank you... hindsight makes us realize there are lots of things we'd do differently. We thought we had it all planned out but didn't anticipate the eggs still hatching I'm just hoping for the best. I'll feel awful if we've ruined these last 3 babies chances

 

[Fancychooklady]

They may still hatch, so long as you placed them in the nest the same way up. Once they have pipped internally if they are rolled at that crucial moment they will unfortunately drown. Even momma hen will occasionally make that mistake . Fingers crossed.

 

[katieducklady]

Thank you ~ I am pretty sure they were placed back in exactly how we found them, it happened so fast and mama hen was pecking so much. Fingers are crossed...

 

[katieducklady]

When would you check on the eggs again? Do you think it's safe if my mom lifts the hen up later tonight to see if they have hatched? I hate to disturb them but I can't stop thinking about them!

 

[bobbi-j]

I'd just leave the hen alone at this point. Any more disturbances could cause her to abandon the nest if she hasn't already. Either they'll hatch or they won't. Not much you can do about it.

 

[Fancychooklady]

If she ' set ' the eggs together they should have hatched usually within 24 hrs of the others. If they don't hatch soon she will more than likely leave them to look after the others. You may then want to candle them to see how far along they are. They may well be infertile, or quitters. If you still have viable eggs you may need to get your hands an incubator or another broody hen, to finish them off.

 

[katieducklady]

Update: When my mom got home from work tonight she discovered that one of the eggs DID hatch and there were 9 healthy babies running around! (which means we counted wrong yesterday while we moved the babies...there were 8 yesterday, not 7). One of the other eggs had just hatched and it was still laying there wet so she's not sure what will come of that one. And the third egg had a beak sticking out of it and nothing more. She could tell that it was still alive though. She didn't mess with them just observed. So again we're praying for the last 2, which I know it's been more than 24 hours so we'll see what happens. Thanks for all of your replies

 

[katieducklady]

Update again: As far as she can tell the 2nd hatched chick is doing great too... the one last egg had piped and she could hear cheeping but it had been pipped for a long time now and the membrane was dry. She carefully helped it out and as soon as she broke shell away the chick kicked its legs out and chirped and had lots of movement so we're taking that as a good sign. If all goes well there are 11 babies