Day 10, Can I move eggs from incubator to broody?

[Polimom]

Hi all — I see a few people have asked whether they can move incubating eggs under a broody, but they seem to be waiting til day 18 (lockdown) to do this.
Is there a reason to wait? Can I candle, and give my broody the viable eggs so she can take it from here? I’m currently day 8, waiting til day 10 to candle again (and to be sure she’s going to stay broody).

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

You can put eggs under the broody now or whenever. Has she been broody for long?

 

[Polimom]

No, she’s just started. I’d wait a few days to see her level of commitment first. And it’s possible I’ll wait til they hatch, and just slip her the babies in place of whatever we let her sit on (at the moment, it’s golf balls). But we’re using a borrowed incubator, and maintaining the humidity is being very challenging. So I’m trying to understand all the possibilities here.

Thank you for your response!

 

[Yardmom]

Have you allowed a broody to hatch before? If the rest of your flock is not pestering her, and you are sure she is committed and not hopping nests. I would transfer the eggs in a day or two. Hens are better designed for hatching than a good incubator. Remember to remove other eggs daily if she is where other hens are laying.

 

[Polimom]

Have you allowed a broody to hatch before? If the rest of your flock is not pestering her, and you are sure she is committed and not hopping nests. I would transfer the eggs in a day or two. Hens are better designed for hatching than a good incubator. Remember to remove other eggs daily if she is where other hens are laying.

Yes, we’ve had many clutches hatched here. Always via a broody.

This is the first time we’ve had to use an incubator, though. Our entire flock (except for one survivor) was killed about 2 weeks ago (we think by a neighborhood dog). The eggs we’re hoping to hatch are from that lost flock.
I went looking for a pair of young-ish Buff O’s to go with our sad and lonely survivor — partly because they tend to be very mellow and our survivor needed that, but also because they tend to go broody. So the hope all along was that one of these Buffs would go broody soon enough to give her the eggs (or the chicks, depending on timing).
It was a long shot; I was looking for a miracle. But it’s starting to look as if it might actually happen.

 

[Yardmom]

As long as the dog issue is solved I would definitely be transferring the eggs to the broody! The only exception would be to hold a few back for the incubator brooder experience if any humans were hoping for that.

 

[BDutch]

Yes, we’ve had many clutches hatched here. Always via a broody.

This is the first time we’ve had to use an incubator, though. Our entire flock (except for one survivor) was killed about 2 weeks ago (we think by a neighborhood dog). The eggs we’re hoping to hatch are from that lost flock.
I went looking for a pair of young-ish Buff O’s to go with our sad and lonely survivor — partly because they tend to be very mellow and our survivor needed that, but also because they tend to go broody. So the hope all along was that one of these Buffs would go broody soon enough to give her the eggs (or the chicks, depending on timing).
It was a long shot; I was looking for a miracle. But it’s starting to look as if it might actually happen.

Sorry for your losses. Couldn’t it have been a fox? They tend to do surplus killing in a coop or run. But some hunting dogs do so too.

Good advice from Yardmon. Be patient for a few days. You can exchange the golf balls with the hatching eggs if you are sure the broody is committed. You could also change two golfballs with eggs as soon as you have as much confidence in your broody as in the incubator. And exchange the others a day later if all goes well.

It certainly would be great if it works out nicely. Please keep us informed.