“Chicken Hatching Experiment”

[RebekahMarie]

Might be too many eggs for her to handle. Make sure you mark the eggs under her and remove any new ones. I have a broody sitting on some eggs at the moment as well. Eggs are due in about a week.

Yes, I did mark them and I was checking to make sure there were no new ones when I found the broken one. How many eggs do you have under your broody?

 

[cherrynberry]

Yes, I did mark them and I was checking to make sure there were no new ones when I found the broken one. How many eggs do you have under your broody?

My birds ALWAYS go broody right after I do a big incubator hatch, so I just gave her 5 eggs. They could definitely take care of more than that, though. Wishing you luck on your hatch!

 

[RebekahMarie]

OH.MY.GOODNESS!!!!

 

[My Bagurks]

Mozel Tov! Looks like the experiment is working.
Were all the fertilized eggs laid on the same day?

I prefer to let my Broodies do all the work like nature intended. But I’ve had to hatch a few myself afterward. The eggs were tended and then some hatched, some didn’t and the mama had decided she was done sitting on them. I took them inside knowing every egg was 2-4 days apart timing wise. And I ended up hatching 4 more under a lamp.

I hope she’s a good mama. Check on them a lot. Sometimes mama hens don’t know what they’re doing. And I have had a mama hen try and cull a few babies before. I don’t think that it is typical, but just be aware. Good luck with your new babies.

 

[RebekahMarie]

Mozel Tov! Looks like the experiment is working.
Were all the fertilized eggs laid on the same day?

I prefer to let my Broodies do all the work like nature intended. But I’ve had to hatch a few myself afterward. The eggs were tended and then some hatched, some didn’t and the mama had decided she was done sitting on them. I took them inside knowing every egg was 2-4 days apart timing wise. And I ended up hatching 4 more under a lamp.

I hope she’s a good mama. Check on them a lot. Sometimes mama hens don’t know what they’re doing. And I have had a mama hen try and cull a few babies before. I don’t think that it is typical, but just be aware. Good luck with your new babies.

They weren't all laid on the same day but they were collected and put under the broody all at once. We had six hatch today!!!!!! There are 3 more eggs that could be viable, based on when we candled them about four days ago. So who knows, we might get a few more tomorrow.

So far she seems like a good mom. I am amazed to know you hatched some eggs under a lamp... might have to try that if the broody deserts them tomorrow! Are you talking about just a regular heat lamp? Do you have to do anything in particular?

 

[McChooky]

They weren't all laid on the same day but they were collected and put under the broody all at once. We had six hatch today!!!!!! There are 3 more eggs that could be viable, based on when we candled them about four days ago. So who knows, we might get a few more tomorrow.

So far she seems like a good mom. I am amazed to know you hatched some eggs under a lamp... might have to try that if the broody deserts them tomorrow! Are you talking about just a regular heat lamp? Do you have to do anything in particular?

You have to do the same things as an incubator would do .Keep the eggs warm and turn them (the number of days depends on how many days the hen sat on them )You'd want to control the humidity too.

 

[SelfSufficientMe]

My 12 yo daughter is calling this the Chicken Hatching Experiment, or CHE for short

We are pretty much newbies but one of the Buff Orpington hens that we got from an older lady nearby (who breeds/raises them herself) has decided to go broody. She has all the textbook broody characteristics.

So yesterday I went to a friends place who has a rooster and got 12 fertile eggs. Last night I slipped them under the broody (up to this point she had just been sitting on fake eggs or whatever infertile eggs had been laid that day).

So I’m going to try this “crazy” experiment and let nature take its course! Anybody want to follow along? Anyone else out there letting a hen do her thing? I’m excited to see what happens!!

I just did the same and it was so much fun! Candelling is exciting and hatch day is even more so Good luck! I hope they all hatch.

 

[My Bagurks]

They weren't all laid on the same day but they were collected and put under the broody all at once. We had six hatch today!!!!!! There are 3 more eggs that could be viable, based on when we candled them about four days ago. So who knows, we might get a few more tomorrow.

So far she seems like a good mom. I am amazed to know you hatched some eggs under a lamp... might have to try that if the broody deserts them tomorrow! Are you talking about just a regular heat lamp? Do you have to do anything in particular?

The eggs I hatched were under her for almost three weeks. They were in the “lockdown” phase so I didn’t have to turn them. I used a regular heat lamp on a cat carrier. Made sure the temp inside was right at 100 and I had a small Tupperware lid with water in the middle to keep the humidity up. I used a cat carrier because it isn’t closed off but it isn’t wide open either. Plus I had to keep my cats away from them. Since I had them in my bedroom.

I had moved mama into a temporary maternity ward inside the run next to the coop early on. And when the newest 4 hatched, I snuck them under her at night. She seemed puzzled but they climbed underneath her and into her wings and the next day she was taking care of all of them.