Help! Hen leaving chicks

[ChickenCanoe]

Becoming a setter is a hormonal change. There is no way to create a setting hen. They either want to raise a family or they don't.

 

[BuffOrpington567]

So is thier a chance for her still hatching them?

 

[Chickassan]

Good broody or not she wouldn't have sat as long as you needed her too. She'd already been sitting for 19 days with no signs of life in her eggs 19 days is only 3 away from hatch. So she gave up.

This is the hen i was talking about taking the chicks, its not another broody and im not addicted

 

[BuffOrpington567]

Thier diffrent eggs though and she still goes back on them, but has LONG brakes??

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So is thier a chance for her still hatching them?

Not if she won't sit. The eggs need to be at 99.5 most of each 24 hour period to remain viable.

 

[BuffOrpington567]

The non fertile ones she sat on were way smaller and only 3, now i got 5 big fertile eggs. She must notice a diffrence but will see at diffrent eggs and not give up?

 

[Chickassan]

I get that. But she does not. In her mind the cycle should be nearly over and she should feel life in all the eggs but she doesn't. At this point she isn't taking a break she's coming and going to make sure she isn't wrong about her eggs. At 5 days she can't tell a thing is happening so those eggs are just as unviable as the infertile ones were.

Thier diffrent eggs though and she still goes back on them, but has LONG brakes??

 

[BuffOrpington567]

So what should i do?

 

[sawilliams]

If you come have and cant hey an incubator for only option is to wait and see what she does. If she's still going back to the eggs then let them stay four now but know you do risk her giving up at this point and if she's does the is nothing you can do. Either find an incubator just incase, or chance her giving up seems abandoning the eggs.

4 hours might not harm the eggs this early, I've lost power in to an incubator for longer and most still hatched.

 

[BuffOrpington567]

K ill see what happens