Day 19

lauren212

Songster
5 Years
Aug 15, 2016
109
39
114
Ontario
The other day one of the eggs under my broody got cracked most likely by one of the other hens laying an egg in her nest box and I lost the chick inside. I have two left. I moved her to her own secluded area since I don’t want anything to happen to the last two! Since I moved her she has not got off the eggs at all. I put the water and food in front of her and she took a few sips. She has not had a poo either. Do I just let her be since it’s day 19.
 
I would leave her alone. If she needs to eat and drink, I'm sure she will. One of the first few times I hatched with a broody hen I also got worried about the lack of eating and drinking around when the chicks were hatching. I moved her off the eggs to see if there was progress and she rushed back so quickly that she stepped on one of the pipped eggs and completely shattered it. The chick inside was okay, but it sure gave me a scare. I'd leave her alone so you don't stress her or unintentionally cause any accidents like I did.
 
Also, in the future, if an egg is cracked just a bit (I don't know how cracked yours was) you have a chance to save them by melting crayon wax over the crack to seal it back up. The chicks can, for the most part, zip right through the wax when it's hatching time. I had one crack around day 12 once and just held a crayon over a flame and "drew" over the cracks to seal them and the chick hatched just fine all on his own and is a healthy chicken now. It doesn't work if they're super cracked, of course, and it might not always work 100% of the time with smaller cracks either, but it's worth a shot. Just thought I'd let you know in case you didn't already know and the information might be useful in the future. :) Good luck with your chicks!
 
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Also, in the future, if an egg is cracked just a bit (I don't know how cracked yours was) you have a chance to save them but melting crayon wax over the crack to seal it back up. The chicks can, for the most part, zip right through the wax when it's hatching time. I had one crack around day 12 once and just held a crayon over a flame and "drew" over the cracks to seal them and the chick hatched just fine all on his own and is a healthy chicken now. It doesn't work if they're super cracked, of course, and it might not always work 100% of the time with smaller cracks either, but it's worth a shot. Just thought I'd let you know in case you didn't already know and the information might be useful in the future. :) Good luck with your chicks!



Thanks. I didn’t know that at the time but it must have died in the shell because it looked like the hens were trying to kick it out of the nest box and it was completely smashed in the morning. That’s why I have them separated from the rest of the flock now. I will keep that trick in mind. Appreciate all the tips I can get!!
 
Plus if she's been eating well during the incubation, she can go a few days without eating.
She's in 'lockdown' ...kinda.....will sit tight during hatching.
That makes sense. I had heard that sometimes hens won’t get off the nest to eat or drink and really run themselves down.
 

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