Day 22 broody hen

[Crystal Chicken]

I have a fantastic broody who has been sitting on 9 eggs. One wasn't developing so that left 8. The others were doing great. It's day 22 and only 3 have hatched, and no other pips. Should I leave them and hope they will hatch today and tomorrow or call it done?

 

[sourland]

If she is still setting on them, I'd give it a try.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I let my broody hens make those decisions. They know more about being chickens than I ever will. The unhatched chicks that have internally pipped talk to the hen through the eggshell so she knows they are on the way. Before they hatch the chicks absorb the yolk. They can live off of that nutrition for over 72 hours before they have to leave the nest. Nature did it that way so the early hatchers can wait on the later ones. When they get hungry or thirsty they tell Mama with their plaintive peeps. The broody generally knows when it is time to lead the chicks off of the nest.

I've had some hatches over within less than 16 hours of the first one hatching. I've had some stretch over 48 hours, those can be stressful. That can happen in an incubator or under a broody hen. I had one under a broody where the first chick hatched on a Monday night and the hen did not lead them off until Friday morning. All of the chicks were fine.

I watch what is going on but try to leave the broody hen alone. The more I interfere the more likely I am to do damage. Of course if I see a real need to interfere I do. I practically never do. I have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it when Mama brings them off. And I watch. That's about all I do. The rest is up to the hen.

 

[Crystal Chicken]

I let my broody hens make those decisions. They know more about being chickens than I ever will. The unhatched chicks that have internally pipped talk to the hen through the eggshell so she knows they are on the way. Before they hatch the chicks absorb the yolk. They can live off of that nutrition for over 72 hours before they have to leave the nest. Nature did it that way so the early hatchers can wait on the later ones. When they get hungry or thirsty they tell Mama with their plaintive peeps. The broody generally knows when it is time to lead the chicks off of the nest.

I've had some hatches over within less than 16 hours of the first one hatching. I've had some stretch over 48 hours, those can be stressful. That can happen in an incubator or under a broody hen. I had one under a broody where the first chick hatched on a Monday night and the hen did not lead them off until Friday morning. All of the chicks were fine.

I watch what is going on but try to leave the broody hen alone. The more I interfere the more likely I am to do damage. Of course if I see a real need to interfere I do. I practically never do. I have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it when Mama brings them off. And I watch. That's about all I do. The rest is up to the hen.

Thank you for this. It is really stressful! This is my second time hatching and the first time with an incubator I got 3 chicks and this time I seem to have gotten 3 chicks and only one of the breed I really wanted, which I am sure will be a rooster. I am so disappointed... I'm going to leave them until the morning and see from there. The first two that hatched, hatched on evening of day 20.. so they aren't too far ahead but they do jump out of the nest and then momma calls them back. There's one still staying under momma.

 

[Crystal Chicken]

If she is still setting on them, I'd give it a try.

I ended up candling them and saw no movement so I eggtopsyed them. 1 wasn't fertile, 1 was really close but hadn't internally piped and just needed to absorb the yolk, there was one that hadn't developed very far, and the other ones stopped developing around 14 days or so. So we had 3 eggs of 9 hatch