what days can a chick hatch?

[Animalian]

I've heard of eggs hatching earlier than 21 days and later. I would like to know what is the earliest they will hatch.

My broody mumma is in the main coop but it has two sections so I would like to lock her off during the "hatching days" so no one else attacks the babies. Then if everything goes well and everybody is hatched and dry I can move them to the little pen I've set up for the new family.

 

[Gypsy07]

I don't think there's an exact answer for this question. Bantam eggs sometimes hatch at 19 days, so might conceivably hatch as early as 16 if temps were too high. If your eggs aren't bantams, then probably day 18 would be the earliest they might hatch. But in general I think broody hatches are usually late rather than early. They have every opportunity to get off the nest and wander around and let the eggs cool down a bit, but they don't have much opportunity to raise their body temp and overheat the eggs. Unless the weather where you are has been really hot the last three weeks, I wouldn't worry too much about them hatching early.

Maybe get your broody penned off sooner rather than later anyway, just so as you're not disturbing her too close to the hatch. You wouldn't want her to get off the nest and leave the eggs cause she was upset by the move right before the chicks were due to hatch. Or is she in the right place already, so you don't need to move her but can just pen her off where she's sat already?

 

[Animalian]

I tried moving her into the pen when she first started going broody but she wouldn't have a bar of it. So I am going to cordon of a section of the coop with her in it. My coop isn't very big though so the other girls will have to have a cardboard box to replace their nest boxes because they won't have access to them. I don't want them to be restricted by this longer then they have to thats all.

I figure my broody mumma will be more likely to adjust to being moved with her chicks rather than trying to convince her to set on a new nest of eggs in a new place.

 

[Gypsy07]

Quote:
You're probably right. I moved my broody to her own shed and kept her shut up in it till the chicks were about a week old. The first day I opened the door to let them all out to free range, they only came out about a foot or so. The second day, she marched them right across the yard and back to the big coop, and she brooded them in a nest box in there. I was worried about the other birds attacking them, but nothing like that ever happened. Hopefully yours will be the same and after a couple of days they can all go in together!