Babies hatching in the barn...need quick advice

[KeliD]

I’ve had a broody hen sitting on eggs that are starting to hatch. Yesterday I found half an egg that looked like it had previously hatched with no sign of a chick. Last night I found one pipped and mama watching closely. This morning I found a dead baby curled in half an egg (didn’t look close enough to see if it was partially eaten) and another almost unzipped.

I’m not sure if mama is killing them as they come out or if the dead one is what is left of the half shell I found yesterday, like maybe she was hiding it before but has finally pushed it out of the nest.

I can remove the remainders to the incubator but I don’t want to jump the gun.
Will mama keep the nest clean by eating quitters in an effort to preserve the other babies?

Also need to know the safest way to transfer to the incubator. I can put incubator in the house to monitor hatching but that means transporting eggs about 100 yards into air conditioning to go into the incubator. I can set incubator up in another part of the barn but monitoring will be more difficult. I can eject mama from the nest to create an isolation area for babies.

 

[azure_]

I think you should move them to the incubator

 

[AgnesGray]

I have limited broody experience, but that experience is that not all hens make good broody mamas. My (usually sweet) wyandotte this spring kicked out eggs as they internally pipped and started to peep in the egg. And one that did manage to hatch, she kicked out after it hatched. Others she was working on killing and that's when I intervened. One egg was kicked out and badly cracked and bleeding from the side and went on to hatch a perfectly beautiful and feisty blue langshan.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I agree not every mama makes a good mama. I had 2 hens that ested together and they killed any that hatched that looked different from two that he already had. All the same age and hatched out by them. But they tore one apart basically that was white and one that was white and red they probably dropped out of the nest where he damaged his neck and had to be put down. Meanwhile another broody hen, their mom, has decided her eggs won't hatch (perfectly viable eggs I moved under another hen) and has become the third mother to these two chicks

 

[KeliD]

I think you should move them to the incubator

I’ve had a broody hen sitting on eggs that are starting to hatch. Yesterday I found half an egg that looked like it had previously hatched with no sign of a chick. Last night I found one pipped and mama watching closely. This morning I found a dead baby curled in half an egg (didn’t look close enough to see if it was partially eaten) and another almost unzipped.

I’m not sure if mama is killing them as they come out or if the dead one is what is left of the half shell I found yesterday, like maybe she was hiding it before but has finally pushed it out of the nest.

I can remove the remainders to the incubator but I don’t want to jump the gun.
Will mama keep the nest clean by eating quitters in an effort to preserve the other babies?

Also need to know the safest way to transfer to the incubator. I can put incubator in the house to monitor hatching but that means transporting eggs about 100 yards into air conditioning to go into the incubator. I can set incubator up in another part of the barn but monitoring will be more difficult. I can eject mama from the nest to create an isolation area for babies.

Update:
Looked closer at dead chick. No signs she ate any of it. Looks to be a quitter. The one hatching is breathing, mama pecks at the egg periodically to ensure it’s still trying to make progress.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know what is happening with that hen and the eggs. She may be at fault, she may not. Some chicks just don't make it or there could be another problem. It's not always easy to figure it out when you are looking at them. Across the internet it's impossible to be sure. You'll have to use your judgment.

Will mama keep the nest clean by eating quitters in an effort to preserve the other babies?

Not in my experience. Mine don't toss them out of the nest either.

Also need to know the safest way to transfer to the incubator.

I'd put them in a small box with a small towel for padding and carry them. Moving them around will not hurt them. They will not get cool enough to do them any harm. The risk to me would be them drying out so get that towel slightly damp. Not soaking wet, but damp.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Mine knock duds out if they can. Most of the spots they choose to neat in have a lip though so they can't knock them out. Instead they stand to eat them

 

[KeliD]

She ejected 4 eggs yesterday. I candles them and verified they were bad. (Aside from the foul smell coming from at least one that I couldn’t detect until I was closed in a small dark space with them)

Best I can tell she removed half the shell of the dead baby, it had no damage at all to indicate she harmed it. I feel reassured enough to give her the benefit of the doubt...for now anyway.