Chick hatched 8 days early??

[funonahonda]

We had a hen go broody when we don't have a rooster to fertilize the egg, so we went and got 4 fertilized eggs and put them under her, and we go out there everyday and check on her and with 8 days to go we found a baby chick popping out from under her mother, but the mother is still sitting on her eggs, Thank gosh but sometimes the mother sits outside the box and we have to put her and the chick back on the other eggs.

 

[FenDruadin]

That's very strange! That egg must have already been developing when you got it--I've never heard of one hatching successfully that early otherwise. Good that the mother continues to sit. Keep an eye on her, though--she might give up on the others.

 

[birdlover]

I THINK I've read on here to take away the baby chick and keep it warm and fed/watered in the house until the others hatch. Otherwise, she's not going to sit 8 more days but, if she doesn't have a chick to care for, she'll continue setting. Then, after the others hatch, you can put the baby back under her at night and she should accept it. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Another option is to have an incubator up and ready when/if she abandons the eggs and you can hatch them yourself.

 

[bugladyleah]

I have had this happen before. The egg must have been partially incubated when you put it under your broody. If I were you, I would take the chick away and let your broody continue to sit on the other eggs. If you leave the chick in there, it may die because the hen is not showing it how to get food and water (she is still busy sitting on the other eggs). Or...she may get off the nest to care for that one chick and abandon the other eggs. Good luck!

Leah

 

[funonahonda]

The chick that hatched 8 days early is doing great but,the other two eggs that she was sitting on , she didn't stay on them all the time so I took them out from under her and opened them and the chick inside the egg was dead so we went to a friends house that just had some chicks hatch out last night and got three of them and put them under the mother with the one chick and hopefully she takes care of them all.