Broody spooked off nest Day 20 FINAL UPDATE!

[perolane]

My first-time silkie broody's eggs are due to hatch tomorrow. For the last 3 weeks I've had to remove her from the nest twice a day to eat & drink...she was never off the eggs more than 5 minutes. She is in the coop, but seperated from the others with a 3 foot tall "puppy playpen fence". I just got home from work to find the pen empty.....eggs cool to the touch...I found her in one of the regular nest boxes in the coop, sitting on other's freshly laid eggs.

DH says he heard a commotion out there around 2:00...he looked in & didn't see anything wrong

I have no idea what could have spooked her so badly to leave the eggs....the only way I can figure she got out of the pen was to hop onto the waterer & then over the fence. I put her back on her nest & she hunkered right down on her eggs. My question is do you think these eggs could possibly still hatch? I assume she was gone from the nest 2 to 2 1/2 hours. This is so frustrating & disappointing.

I have chicks hatching in the incubator as we speak...maybe I should give her a couple of those.

 

[sourland]

Especially since they are that far along in development, I think there is a good chance that those eggs will hatch. Hatch time may be prolonged because of the chilling. Is she back on the nest brooding the eggs now? Try to figure out what caused the problem so that it does not occur again.

 

[magicpigeon]

If she's spooked off....then probably not. I suggest putting them in an incubator. Better that than them hatching...


Sorry.

 

[perolane]

Yes, she's brooding the eggs now. As soon as I put her on the nest she hunkered down. I don't think I'll ever know what happened as I was at work when all of this took place & nothing like this has ever happened before...my coop is a chicken fort knox!

I guess I'll let her continue to sit for a couple more days & if they don't hatch, I'll put a couple of these new babies under her. I'm just disappointed as these were my first 6 lav showgirl eggs.

Thanks!!

 

[sourland]

Let us know if they hatch. She may adopt the incubator chicks in addition to any that she hatches.

 

[Judy]

My bet is they will hatch. I've had broodies run off their nest by someone else wanting to lay in the broody's nest, and the broody winds up setting eggs laid that day til I come along, more than once.

Don't give up. They can be without the broody and get cool, and still hatch, I promise. As another said, the hatch might be delayed a bit.

 

[happyhens44]

They can still hatch whats the temp there?

 

[chicks4kids]

She'll hatch 'em for sure!

 

[ChooksChick]

I have had broodies go for their poop/food stroll and come back to the wrong nest. Once it was 22 degrees out and I found her on the wrong nest a good 6 or more hours after I had seen her wandering that morning....and all of the eggs hatched. They were stone cold, due that day or the next.

These animals are designed well. That's all I can say.

 

[gritsar]

Was it as warm in Louisiana today as it was here?

My broody got off the nest for a long time yesterday. I finally shoo'd her back in after an hour of babysitting her nest so that my other birds wouldn't bother it.

She hatched right on schedule this morning.