Dog Sensing Chicks???

[kiwibbE]

So today is day 18 of me incubating Silkie chicken eggs! My dog has started to come in here out of nowhere and lay near the incubator. She usually doesn’t even come in here unless there are treats. Anyway, she is a very sweet dog and I don’t think she thinks they are food. Do you think maybe she knows they are going to hatch soon?

 

[JaeG]

She may be able to hear them. I found a study that looked at communication between eggs prior to hatch. They will start to click a beat at 120 beats per minute in the days before they pip internally, and any eggs that are lagging behind will speed up their development to catch up. The slower eggs will start clicking too, joining in the beat where they can until they are developed enough to keep up with the others. It's really fascinating stuff.

If you need something to pass the time you can find it here: https://openornithologyjournal.com/contents/volumes/V3/TOOENIJ-3-141/TOOENIJ-3-141.pdf

Sounds like your dog is going to be a good big sister.

 

[Mama Hen to 4]

When we did our first hatch it was our dog that let us know they had started. He would just stare at the incubator and whine. He was so excited for the chicks it was hilarious. We had them in a big box after they hatched and before they were big enough to go outside and one day I heard a big of a ruckus. Went in and he had climbed in the box and was soooo carefully tucking all the chicks beside him while laying down. It was hilarious.

 

[SnootyHen]

Dogs are so sensitive to things. My dogs always knew I was pregnant before I did!

 

[kiwibbE]

Thanks for all this info! I have one more question. Should I be worried about my Silkie eggs if it is day 19 and I haven’t heard a chirp? They were shipped so I assumed they would take longer but there is only four in there.