*EMERGENCY* Can I put only one egg in a incubator?

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

So, there was a pigeon sitting on a chicken egg, but she decided to give up at 10 days. I put this chicken egg under her on October 1st. I'm wondering if I can save the chick? I have a TrioCottage incubator that I have, but I don't have any other fertalized eggs.
If it's too late it's okay

 

[Yardmom]

No harm if you have a started egg to place it in the incubator. Chicks do better in a flock, so you might need a mirror and a stuffed animal ect. Once it hatched, but no reason it can't be hatched on its own if it was already started.

 

[NatJ]

So, there was a pigeon sitting on a chicken egg, but she decided to give up at 10 days. I put this chicken egg under her on October 1st. I'm wondering if I can save the chick? I have a TrioCottage incubator that I have, but I don't have any other fertalized eggs.
If it's too late it's okay

Yes, you can put a single egg in the incubator. The egg will not care whether there are other eggs in the incubator or not. So a single egg is not a problem.

But if that egg hatches, you will have a single chick. That is not so good. Chicks do best with other chicks for company. That keeps them from being lonely, but it also lets them develop the social skills they need to live in a flock when they grow up.

For now, I would probably put the egg in the incubator, then in a few days maybe try candling to see how it is doing.

If the egg develops properly while it is in the incubator, you could plan to buy some chicks at the time the egg is due to hatch, so it will have other chicks for company. Or you could try to find someone local who will also be raising chicks at that time, and give the chick to them. If you do have to raise the chick alone, there are some threads on the forum talking about it.

 

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

Thank you!!!!! He's in the incubator (or she)! Heating up nicely, and I think the chick is going to thrive! Would it be a good thing for the pigeon to continue brooding on the egg after she starts again? She stops every 2 weeks I think. She thinks that they didn't hatch and waits 3 days and gets bred, then resumes. Sounds good I'll check those forums out!! I am planning on hatchig more

 

[NatJ]

Thank you!!!!! He's in the incubator (or she)! Heating up nicely, and I think the chick is going to thrive! Would it be a good thing for the pigeon to continue brooding on the egg after she starts again?

The egg will probably be fine in the incubator or back under the pigeon.

But when it hatches, I do not think a pigeon is going to make a good mother for a chicken. Baby pigeons need very different care than baby chickens do. So you should make plans for when the chick hatches (probably 21 days from when the egg started being incubated.)

 

[gimmie birdies]

You can buy chicks from meyer,s they will ship as few as 3, but cheaper to buy a few hens you want and fill the rest with fry pan bargains to get the number up to 15. They hatch every week, so pick a ship date similar to your eggs hatch date.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Or check Craig's list for chicks.

 

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

The egg will probably be fine in the incubator or back under the pigeon.

But when it hatches, I do not think a pigeon is going to make a good mother for a chicken. Baby pigeons need very different care than baby chickens do. So you should make plans for when the chick hatches (probably 21 days from when the egg started being incubated.)

It's a bantam egg, that's how her tiny pigeon body fit on it

 

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

What would I need to do different-ly?
She will definitely keep that baby bantam polish warm.

 

[SmiYa0126]

What would I need to do different-ly?
She will definitely keep that baby bantam polish warm.

Don't pigeons feed their babies into their beaks? Chicks forage with their momma's from a couple of days old.