Broody hen with 10 day old eggs??

[Jenessa_09]

Hi guys, we have a broody hen that’s been sitting for about four days now, since we don’t have a rooster we went to go get some fertile eggs for her to sit on. We got six eggs and we came home and candled them. Five of them are fertile and two of them look almost ready to hatch the other three I can just see veins. Is it okay for her to hatch chicks before she sat for 21 days??

 

[WhySayWhat]

She'll abandon the underdeveloped eggs to take care of the chicks. I'd put the ready to hatch ones under her and put the rest in an incubator.

 

[MadamContrary]

Where did you get the eggs? That's an interesting predicament you're in. She will likely abandon the nest after the first 24-48 hours of the first eggs hatching, leaving the less developed eggs behind. Whether the short sitting time is an issue, I'm honestly not sure. She'll probably just be pleased to have chicks.

 

[Jenessa_09]

She'll abandon the underdeveloped eggs to take care of the chicks. I'd put the ready to hatch ones under her and put the rest in an incubator.

I don’t have an incubator

 

[Jenessa_09]

Where did you get the eggs? That's an interesting predicament you're in. She will likely abandon the nest after the first 24-48 hours of the first eggs hatching, leaving the less developed eggs behind. Whether the short sitting time is an issue, I'm honestly not sure. She'll probably just be pleased to have chicks.

Uhh I got the eggs from a person we know in town who has a lot of chickens, the eggs were already sat on by another momma I feel bad for taking them. And on top of that, we don’t have an incubator!!

 

[MadamContrary]

Uhh I got the eggs from a person we know in town who has a lot of chickens, the eggs were already sat on by another momma I feel bad for taking them. And on top of that, we don’t have an incubator!!

Hmm well you have a bit of time, you could consider purchasing a small incubator and let her sit for now. Then once you have the incubator running, candle and separate the eggs. They have some inexpensive ones on Amazon, having one on hand as a chick ICU is always nice as well

 

[Jenessa_09]

Hmm well you have a bit of time, you could consider purchasing a small incubator and let her sit for now. Then once you have the incubator running, candle and separate the eggs. They have some inexpensive ones on Amazon, having one on hand as a chick ICU is always nice as well

Yeah true it’s always good to have a backup plan, I’ll look into it. Any suggestions on incubators?

 

[MadamContrary]

Yeah true it’s always good to have a backup plan, I’ll look into it. Any suggestions on incubators?

Depends on your budget and how involved you want to be in the turning process. I personally use the NurtureRight 360, 165.00 with tax. Fully automated other than adding water at lockdown. I started off with a 40.00 still air farm innovations without a turner though, had decent hatch rates considering the price point. There's tons of inexpensive ones available from China on Amazon that include a turner but, I'd spring for a second thermometer and hygrometer to make sure your numbers are accurate.

 

[Doo]

Thanks alot for information on looking after chickens. My hen lost interest in brooding as rain water touched eggs. I realised that after two days and I am putting them under globe heat.
I'll candle them and see if they are still alive

Dorothy