Hi,
Sorry if the answers to this are found in the forum already, but this is somewhat of an emergency. I have a broody English game hen who hatched a bantie frizzle chick a couple of weeks ago. She still had four eggs and one of them hatched out today, but the older chick attacked it so I had to bring the young one in the house and set up a brooder for it with overhead light, etc. (I have bought day-old chicks before, so know how to look after hatchlings). My big question has to do with the remaining eggs, which I also removed from the hen so that if any more hatched they were not going to be hurt. When I removed them I heard peeping coming from them, so of course I had to keep them!
I've never hatched eggs before and just need to know if anyone has any advice. I have them with today's hatchling in a cardboard box inside a larger Rubbermaid tub with an overhead light. Temperature over the top of the eggs is 100 degrees F. (the hatchling can choose his temperature from 100 to 80 degrees, and seems to like it around 85.) I have a flat dish of water and a sponge right beside the eggs that are under the light, but outside of the cardboard box, itself to give some humidity and so the hatchling can't get into it.
Is there anything else I should be doing? Should I be turning these eggs? If so, how often, and do I turn them a quarter-turn, half-turn, or ???
At first I was going to take the older chick away from the broody hen and let her hatch the remaining eggs, but she had a fit and so did the chick, so I thought it would be less stressful this way. Do you think I'll be able to reintroduce the new ones when they're a bit older? Or should I just put the eggs back with the hen and have the chick by himself?
Thanks so much for any help on this!!
Linda
Sorry if the answers to this are found in the forum already, but this is somewhat of an emergency. I have a broody English game hen who hatched a bantie frizzle chick a couple of weeks ago. She still had four eggs and one of them hatched out today, but the older chick attacked it so I had to bring the young one in the house and set up a brooder for it with overhead light, etc. (I have bought day-old chicks before, so know how to look after hatchlings). My big question has to do with the remaining eggs, which I also removed from the hen so that if any more hatched they were not going to be hurt. When I removed them I heard peeping coming from them, so of course I had to keep them!
I've never hatched eggs before and just need to know if anyone has any advice. I have them with today's hatchling in a cardboard box inside a larger Rubbermaid tub with an overhead light. Temperature over the top of the eggs is 100 degrees F. (the hatchling can choose his temperature from 100 to 80 degrees, and seems to like it around 85.) I have a flat dish of water and a sponge right beside the eggs that are under the light, but outside of the cardboard box, itself to give some humidity and so the hatchling can't get into it.
Is there anything else I should be doing? Should I be turning these eggs? If so, how often, and do I turn them a quarter-turn, half-turn, or ???
At first I was going to take the older chick away from the broody hen and let her hatch the remaining eggs, but she had a fit and so did the chick, so I thought it would be less stressful this way. Do you think I'll be able to reintroduce the new ones when they're a bit older? Or should I just put the eggs back with the hen and have the chick by himself?
Thanks so much for any help on this!!
Linda
