I walked into my coop a couple hours ago and heard chirping! My hen hatched out her first chick!
She has been sitting for a long time so I figured the eggs were not fertile, so I was gonna get rid of them this week. Now I'm stumped as to what to do. I moved the bantams to the back part of the coop with the small run, and the other chickens are freeranging so they can just sleep in the smaller part of the coop(the storage area) and I am putting the portable run (8x6) in the garage and putting shavings in it for momma and baby. The nesting box is a deep rubbermaid so it's too deep for baby to get out of but too small for them to live in, but there are more eggs that she is sitting on. So do I move the eggs to the ground(with lots of shavings) so the hen can still sit on them and keep her baby warm too, or will she stop sitting if I do that?
Also, how many more days should I leave the eggs if they don't hatch, and if no more hatch should I get a couple chicks from the feed store for company or is momma hen enough company?
She has been sitting for a long time so I figured the eggs were not fertile, so I was gonna get rid of them this week. Now I'm stumped as to what to do. I moved the bantams to the back part of the coop with the small run, and the other chickens are freeranging so they can just sleep in the smaller part of the coop(the storage area) and I am putting the portable run (8x6) in the garage and putting shavings in it for momma and baby. The nesting box is a deep rubbermaid so it's too deep for baby to get out of but too small for them to live in, but there are more eggs that she is sitting on. So do I move the eggs to the ground(with lots of shavings) so the hen can still sit on them and keep her baby warm too, or will she stop sitting if I do that?
Also, how many more days should I leave the eggs if they don't hatch, and if no more hatch should I get a couple chicks from the feed store for company or is momma hen enough company?