Any Hope for Abandoned Eggs?

[ihatedarkroast]

Marie the chicken abandoned the nest after one chick hatched. I don't know if it happened today or last night as my husband locked the coop up yesterday. I found all eggs cold in the nest box. Mama and baby were in the yard and not even in the coop.

I got a plastic oil tray we use for feeding and moved some hay and the unhatched eggs into it. Set mama and baby on top and moved everyone to a dog kennel on my porch away from the other chickens and ducks. She tucked the eggs under her with the lone chick and has stayed put.

There was only a 1-2 day difference in egg start dates. I wrote on them with a pencil. A few late strays may have snuck in. But since the eggs cooled off is there any hope they will hatch at all? With my luck the one chick is sure to be a cockerel. Todays temperatures were around 90 F outside, a little cooler in the henhouse.

 

[Oob Child]

Marie the chicken abandoned the nest after one chick hatched. I don't know if it happened today or last night as my husband locked the coop up yesterday. I found all eggs cold in the nest box. Mama and baby were in the yard and not even in the coop.

I got a plastic oil tray we use for feeding and moved some hay and the unhatched eggs into it. Set mama and baby on top and moved everyone to a dog kennel on my porch away from the other chickens and ducks. She tucked the eggs under her with the lone chick and has stayed put.

There was only a 1-2 day difference in egg start dates. I wrote on them with a pencil. A few late strays may have snuck in. But since the eggs cooled off is there any hope they will hatch at all? With my luck the one chick is sure to be a cockerel. Todays temperatures were around 90 F outside, a little cooler in the henhouse.

There is still hope. Do you have an incubator? If so, I recommend putting them in immediately.

 

[ihatedarkroast]

There is still hope. Do you have an incubator? If so, I recommend putting them in immediately.

I do not have an incubator. I do have a heat lamp. So i candled the eggs. Somehow some birds slipped a bunch of extras in there. 5 eggs appear fully darkened or developed. I discarded the others. The hen sat on them last night then forgot them again. So i will try the heatlamp.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I'm sorry about the abandoned eggs. I feel sure your warm temps combined with how close they were to hatching at the time of abandonment allowed them to remain viable. But how to convince your broody to continue incubating them was a whole 'nother issue.

I have a broody hen that would hatch 4-5 chicks out of a viable clutch of 12, then soon take the early-hatched chicks from the nest box, leaving the other eggs behind. (4 or 5 chicks every single time, no more nor less, I'm convinced she can count.) She did this even when some remaining eggs were not only pipped but actively unzipping, and even though she began incubating her entire clutch at the same time. I finally came up with a 100% effective solution to the problem.

My solution was to remove each new chick a few hours after it has dried, and place it into a temporary heated brooder inside my house, making sure I always leave one or two of the newest hatchees with her so she she doesn't abandon the remaining eggs. This has worked every single time. All eggs hatch within 24-36 hours, and I return all chicks to her at night after the last chick has hatched. This method also works with staggered hatches too, although in that case the early chicks need food and water in their temporary brooder along with a heat source. I think odds are high your current broody will exhibit the same behaviors with her future clutches unless you intevene. So though you may not be able to save her current egg babies, you should be able to save those in the future.

 

[ihatedarkroast]

I'm sorry about the abandoned eggs. I feel sure your warm temps combined with how close they were to hatching at the time of abandonment allowed them to remain viable. But how to convince your broody to continue incubating them was a whole 'nother issue.

I have a broody hen that would hatch 4-5 chicks out of a viable clutch of 12, then soon take the early-hatched chicks from the nest box, leaving the other eggs behind. (4 or 5 chicks every single time, no more nor less, I'm convinced she can count.) She did this even when some remaining eggs were not only pipped but actively unzipping, and even though she began incubating her entire clutch at the same time. I finally came up with a 100% effective solution to the problem.

My solution was to remove each new chick a few hours after it has dried, and place it into a temporary heated brooder inside my house, making sure I always leave one or two of the newest hatchees with her so she she doesn't abandon the remaining eggs. This has worked every single time. All eggs hatch within 24-36 hours, and I return all chicks to her at night after the last chick has hatched. This method also works with staggered hatches too, although in that case the early chicks need food and water in their temporary brooder along with a heat source. I think odds are high your current broody will exhibit the same behaviors with her future clutches unless you intevene. So though you may not be able to save her current egg babies, you should be able to save those in the future.

 

[ihatedarkroast]

I really like your idea. Next time if i notice it in time i will try that!
Unfortunately, these eggs are gone I think.

 

[ihatedarkroast]

*update My daughter accidentally broke an egg.....ugh...ugh... definitely gone!