Help! Broody hen just hatched one baby!

[Redchkn1]

Hi there, i'm kinda new to this whole chicken thingy, but having a good time! I have an arucana hen that went broody ohhhh appox 21 days ago...didn't think much of it as the
only roo I have is a banty...guess he found a ladder..lol. I let her set the eggs cuz she was sooo determined, and I thought what the heck she can have the eggs for awhile.
imagine MY surprise when I went to close the hen house Tuesday night and heard a faint peep from under her. At that point shock outweighed common sence, and I just left
her alone for the night. The next morning, with much grumbling on her part I moved her and the ONE baby to a seperate pen, along with the other eggs, into a new nest box.
as of today she has settled in and there are no more babies...just the one Now should I remove the other eggs so she will get OFF the nest box?? she is still broody, I have
candled the other eggs, and they appear to have very dark objects in them...just not sure if they are indeed babies. Should I take the single baby from her???? will it be okay
being raised as an only chick....good grief should I go buy a couple at the local feed store??? I already have 22 baby chicks from mail order that are a month old. I did offer (stuck the babies beak in water, and dropped some food in the nest box (chick starter)) has it been too long for the other eggs to hatch??? any opinions are very welcome!!! Did I mention that approx 21 days ago would have been APRIL FOOLS DAY??????lol

 

[NoseyChickens]

It will be ok, she will take care of the chick, It can take longer than 21 days to hatch an egg. I'd give the others at least another day or two before I gave up on them. Congrats! If the eggs are dark then that is a chick.

 

[sandy sea]

I have had chicks hatch three days apart. Time will tell. If only one chick hatches, the broody will still be a watchful mom. Have fun.

 

[cluckers&quackers]

I dont have a lot of experience, but I would say to just leave the other eggs just in case what you are seeing is actually live babies. But in my experience if it turns out there is just one baby she will be equally protective of that one, and it will do just fine being with mom

Last year my bantam hatched one egg, but she was so protective of that little baby, and it seemed to do just fine being with her

 

[Redchkn1]

Thanks to all for your quick replies...made my day go MUCH easier...mama and baby are still fine, I'll leave the eggs for a couple more days and see what happens!

 

[krazycow6]

I had a lot of issues today with my hatch..i think the eggs got too dry? one chick died but three are still going!! Mama is doing a excellent job, so we have 2 more eggs...they haven't cracked yet so we will see in the morning. Hopefully you have some good results to wake up to too!!!