Did I kill them unwittingly?

[NovaAman]

Yesterday I did coop cleaning... I moved Skeeter, nestbox and all, because I had to get the poop out from around that box. There are roosts over the top... Anyway, I never put her back in the corner, I just left her in the other corner. She was still there last night when I closed up the coop. HOWEVER, at some point in time between 9 pm last night, and 8 am this morning, she got out of that nestbox, abandoning her eggs, and moved to the other nest box in the original corner, and she was PITHED off. I snatched her eggs up, they were quite cool, and put them under her, and NOW I am crossing my fingers that they didn't quit. I feel so bad... I should have moved her back to the other corner, but she seemed quite content since I moved her nestbox and all... SO, I am thinking she may have gotten out to eat and couldn't get back in since where I moved the nest box too, was on top of another nest box of the same size, so no place to stand to climb back in the hole... OH MAN! How long can they go with out her sitting on them before they quit?

 

[crenees]

Hey NovaAman!

I dont have quite the same experience but i have an incubator that i had set up in my living room (to keep an eye on...it's a small thing...10 eggs max, although i only incubated 8). Anyway, my dog knocked the A/C unit out of the wall one night (about two weeks in) and the temp dropped from 99.1 to 89. Well i thought for sure they were gonners but this morning...all 8 actually hatched. So, i think you can hold onto the hope they might still survive

No promises, but thought i'd give you my own experience with temp drop, etc.

Courtney

 

[mkcolls]

Give her a couple of days back on the eggs, then candle them. There are many variables, coop temp, exact time off the eggs, and the stage of development. Don't give up on them.

Tip: From experience, I no longer do a complete clean out of a broody's nest during incubation time. I got a small pooper scooper and scoop out any poop that the hen expels in the nest. It is much less of a disturbance for the hen and her eggs.

Good luck!

 

[NovaAman]

Yeah, I was just reading some other old threads where things like this have happened and they've hatched. OH, I hope so. I'd be bummed big time if they don't. She is only sitting on two eggs.. Why two? Well, I needed to limit how many chicks were hatching with 4 different broodies. LOL, She started out with more, but they were duds. She actually sat a week on 2 different eggs from the neighbor and when I candled at day 7, they were not fertile. SO, I started her on more, and hoped/hope she stays till the end. She's on her 3rd hatch this year now. She's always broody, but I think 4 weeks might be a limit.

I am going to candle tonight and see if there is any movement. They have just one week to go... SO

 

[NovaAman]

Give her a couple of days back on the eggs, then candle them. There are many variables, coop temp, exact time off the eggs, and the stage of development. Don't give up on them.

Tip: From experience, I no longer do a complete clean out of a broody's nest during incubation time. I got a small pooper scooper and scoop out any poop that the hen expels in the nest. It is much less of a disturbance for the hen and her eggs.

Good luck!

I use plastic totes with lids, a hole in the side and upside down. She never messes the nest actually. She's very good about that. I had to clean the poop from around her nest... The heat kicked back up here and flies were starting to get in the coop.. Normally I wouldn't have even moved the nest, BUT she's my nice broody. SO I picked up the nest box with her still in it and just moved it to the other corner so I could clean out that corner. There is a roost bar that runs right over top of that nest, MY BAD when I built this thing. I had no idea what I was doing, and to late now to fix it. Anyway, her chicks that are 3 months now, they roost right over top of her every night, they used to stay in the coop with her for a long time during the day when she went back to nest... Anyway, SO, that is a lot of poo that gets on top of her box, behind the box... I had to clean it. I just had too.

 

[Maggiesdad]

They should be fine...I just got 5 out of 9 hatched by a hen that abandoned her clutch twice, similar time periods, once at day 7 and once at day 14. She did not want to be moved,scattered her eggs about, pooped on them and buried them in shavings. Eggs dropped to ambient, which was low 80s. I put her back where in the main coop both times, and she went back to setting. I moved her after the hatch and the other hens got to one of the chicks. She took relocation the third time just fine with four chicks under her wings.

Keep the faith and hang in there - eggs were made to hatch!

 

[mkcolls]

Update please.

How is your broody and and is there any movement in the remaining eggs?

 

[NovaAman]

GUESS WHAT!!

THEY ARE HATCHING! Both of the eggs are pipped and zipping! YAY! I can't wait to see what they look like. I am glad I caught it, and was able to move mama and eggs to the broody box for a few days.

I always move the hens the day before the expected hatch. Using totes is the easiest way to do this. LOL, I move the hen, in the nest box too the garage brooder. LOL, makes it easy for her to stay settled in. That or my hens trust me. LOL. BUT I got her moved and she got out of the nest once in the brooder, stretched herself, ate, drank, pooped, climbed back in her nest and settled down.

 

[Maggiesdad]