Disappearing pullet shows up with chicks

[JesusHChicken]

Just checking in . . . . did any of the other eggs hatch?

Yes. Both hatched last night. Not sure if other eggs are viable. I think I'll keep the two with the one chick momma rejected so he's got some buddies.

I just finished getting the brooder pen ready. It's a 6x6' dog run. Lined with glav hardware cloth with scrap wood for roof. I have a tarp I'll use for the rainy days.

Thanks you and others for your help. I felt quite embarrassed about not knowing what to do with a momma and chicks.

 

[song of joy]

You're very welcome. I'm glad I could help out. Don't feel embarrassed about not knowing what to do in this situation. I've learned so much about what to do in various chicken-rearing situations by coming to BYC and then adapting and applying that knowledge to my own flock. We all learn by listening to advice and gaining our own hands-on experience.

Congratulations on the additional chicks that hatched. It's a good idea to give the rejected chick some company.

 

[JesusHChicken]

You're very welcome. I'm glad I could help out. Don't feel embarrassed about not knowing what to do in this situation. I've learned so much about what to do in various chicken-rearing situations by coming to BYC and then adapting and applying that knowledge to my own flock. We all learn by listening to advice and gaining our own hands-on experience.

Congratulations on the additional chicks that hatched. It's a good idea to give the rejected chick some company.

I candled the other eggs and one looks fairly well developed but I can't tell if it's actually alive. I can see the air pocket and chick. I saw no movement when I rotated egg. Should the fetus move when candled?

 

[lazy gardener]

I candled the other eggs and one looks fairly well developed but I can't tell if it's actually alive. I can see the air pocket and chick. I saw no movement when I rotated egg. Should the fetus move when candled?

Not necessarily. Is the beak in the air cell? Often, a chick will pierce the air cell, then sleep or rest until she has enough energy for the next phase, which is the external pip. she may then rest again, before completing her zip. Any number of things can arrest her progress, most common one being that the membranes dry out due to not enough humidity. I can't advise you, b/c I'm not standing in your shoes. Wishing you the best. As for feeling embarrassed, DON'T. We all start somewhere on the learning curve.

 

[song of joy]

As @lazy gardener said, you may not see movement, especially late in development because the chick fills so much of the egg. You could try a float test to check for movement. Do to this, you float the egg in a bowl of warm water (approximately 100 degrees F). Wait for the water to become still, then check for little jerking movements of the egg. If you see movements, the chick is probably alive. If you don't see movements, the chick may be alive but very still at the time. Don't leave the egg in the water for more than a minute or two.

Assuming all of the eggs began incubation at the same time (that is, no eggs were added by other hens after the broody hen started incubating), the remaining eggs should hatch within a day or two of the other chicks that hatched (like the 2 eggs that hatched in your incubator). If they don't, they probably won't hatch.

 

[lazy gardener]

Just be sure there are no minute cracks in the egg before doing the float test. I have pretty much stopped doing the float test b/c I have found that it does not serve any useful purpose for me. But, others still do it, so they must be getting useful info from it.