Broody Hen Left Her Eggs To Steal Another's Newly Hatched Chicks - Her Eggs In Homemade Incubator -

[machoman]

It's been broody hen city over here and as our flock size increases, we're on that learning curve where mistakes are made.

Mama hen hatches out 7 chicks, she gets up and it's clear other hens have been laying eggs in her nest. I take 6 and slide them under another broody who's just started being broody thinking they'l hatch in a day or two and it worked! But, surrogate doesn't care for them, but another hen who's sitting on 16 eggs does! Her eggs are due in about 3 days. She left her nest today, it's 85 degrees here and they probably sat on their own for about 3 hours. I quickly made a ghetto incubator ( a large tupperware storage tub, towel, glass bowl with water, 60 watt bulb, and the storage lug's lid ). Is there a chance this will even work? I candled the eggs and they all look good, with air sac or bubble.

 

[PSJ]

Could you put any of them under the other broody so they have a better chance?

 

[machoman]

I wish I could, but THAT broody hen also stole another hen's 10 eggs when she stepped out to eat.

 

[machoman]

Just an update. Our first chick hatched today. I've been getting better at egg candling. initially, my skills were pretty bad. But, I've been thinning out the ones that are really rotten and so far have been successful with it.

The "incubator" was a rubbermaid lug with a towel in the bottom of it for cushioning, a bowl of water with a metal pasta strainer over it and a 60 watt bulb that I hung over the top with the lug lid on top.