HELP. One chick hatching tomorrow and have a second hen taking over & 5 misc. questions.

[mudwoman]

Hello,
I have owned my 8 hens 1 roo flock for one year. "Pinky" went broody, so I left 3 eggs under her. Tonight 1 is pipping and 2 are not. I believe they may be infertile. Should I pull the duds now? Can I pull the duds after the chick hatches tomorrow? ALSO....."Jamie" has been egg sitting this past week while Pinky free ranges with the flock for about a 1/2 hr. a day, so I left 2 more eggs for her, as it looks like she is either broody too or just wants to steal Pinky's eggs. (Jamie is the alpha hen and tonight she sat in the box and stole all 5 eggs from Pinky, I moved the original 3 back to Pinky).

Please know, that I know the one egg WILL hatch tomorrow and to leave the 2 moms and new chick alone and let them all work it out when the baby arrives!

So....even tho I asked questions above, let me be more comprehensive, here are my questions....(yes, I'm a bit anxious and freaked)
1) Can I pull the probable "dud" eggs tomorrow? I'm pretty positive there will be a baby chick in the box when I wake up.
2) There are 3 younger eggs being sat on too. They are due on 8/7. Will mom(s) continue still sit on them?
3) The nesting boxes are built-in and even with the coop house floor, but there is a 4" lip. Will mom(s) be able to get the chick over the lip and to food & water?
4) If so, do I put chick food right outside the lip against the nest-box? Won't the hens eat it?
5) Is it okay if the mom(s) end up taking the chick to the hens layer food?
Thank you for reading and hopefully helping.
I did this on a whim when Pinky went broody. She is sweet as sugar!
Jamie is pushy and I believe only became Pinky's egg sitter last week because she thinks she is the boss of all the girls and stole all 5 eggs from Pinky today when the pipping started in the 1 egg.
Again....HELP and THANK YOU
Thanks to this community you all helped me save Pinky's life last year!
Martie
P.S., It is 10:00 p.m. here and everyone is roosting and the coop house is closed for the night.

 

[sumi]

1. Leave the eggs in the nest, under the hen until she gets up with the chick(s). She will most likely sit another day, or two, before getting up to take care of the chick(s) that hatched. Even though the incubation starts at exactly the same time for all the eggs, they never hatch at exactly the same time and hatches are usually spread out over 2-3 days. That being said, I've had broody hatches spread out over 4 days in the past.

2. If your second hen really is broody she may continue sitting on those eggs, but if she sees the first broody with her chicks she's likely to abandon the nest and go "help" raise those chicks. If possibly keep the first broody and her chicks out of sight of the second broody.

3. They may need a little help getting out of there. Keep an eye on them, when the hen gets up and leaves the nest box, to see if the chicks follow her. If they can't get out, give a hand, or place a little step inside the box for them to use.

4. Put food and water somewhere near the nest box. The hen will not travel far from the box once she gets up with the chicks for the first time. Don't feed her in the box as this may cause her to relief herself in the box and that is a mess you don't want to clean up She will eat the chick food and that's fine.

5. No. Layer food contains extra calcium for layers' egg laying and this excess calcium is harmful to chicks if consumed in large amounts or on a regular basis. Feed the hen(s) and chicks chick starter or grower. The older chickens can eat it too. If it's difficult to feed them separately, switch the entire flock to starter/grower for a few weeks and offer the layers oystershell on the side for their calcium needs. If you are feeding starter that is medicated with amprolium the eggs will be fine for human consumption. Amprolium leaves no residue in the eggs.

 

[gander007]

Mom,ma hatched out some egg;s for 10 days ...







Wound up with 23 chicks when it was over ...

 

[mudwoman]

Good Morning Sumi,
Such wonderful answers to each of my questions. THANK YOU for taking the time you invested in helping me!
No chickie this morning.....YET.... There is a hole now, and louder peeping, where yesterday, there was just a crack and pipping, I suspect it won't be long!

Although I gave Pinky her 3 eggs back last night, Jamie stayed in the box with her and this morning had all 5 eggs and Pinky had none. I gave her back her eggs (again), but, I'm pretty sure Jamie will take them again. (If Pinky just would have only sat in one of the other 3 smaller nest boxes, Jamie wouldn't have fit, but, Pinky chose the larger box, thus, allowing room for Jamie.... Oh well!)

I think I will fill the regular feeder with organic starter feed to be on the safe side and continue to give the big girls oyster shell outside. I do that everyday anyway. It's our bonding time!

Sorry that after your answered my questions so succinctly , that I have more questions!

Questions:
1) What if they fight over the chick(s), they could end up killing it. Should I remove Jamie and the 3 younger eggs into a separate lock down cage outside the hen-house so not to disturb Pinky and "her" chick(s)? She has been brooding in that box for almost 2 months, it's her "space" in my eyes .
1a) Or, is it better to move Pinky with her chick(s) into a separate cage out of sight, so Jamie can stay on the nest and I can see if she is truly brooding and stays sitting?
3) If so, what if Jamie isn't really broody, just pushy, and abandons those eggs, should I incubate them myself instead of giving them back to Pinky, since Pinky probably not sit for long once her chick(s) start running around, so giving her those eggs in lockdown to hatch may not be a good idea?

Sorry that after your answered my questions so succinctly , that I have more questions!
Your answers are AWESOME, so are you! And, again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

[sumi]

You're welcome What I would do in your situation is let Pinky finish hatching the eggs (it sounds like that chick is coming and soon!), then move her and the chick(s) to a safe space, out of sight of Jamie. Then see if Jamie is really broody. If she is, she will stay put and sleep in the box as well and I will leave her be and let her hatch her own chicks. If she gets up, try and keep her separated from Pinky and her chicks until the chicks are at least a week old and Pinky has settled down in her role as mom. It's better to let hens raise chicks in with the rest of the flock, so the flock will accept the chicks as coming with mom and being part of the flock from the start. Then you don't have to worry about integration issues later. A good mom will protect her chicks veraciously, so the rest of the flock, if they know what's good for them, will leave the chicks alone.

If Jamie's been on the eggs for 2-3 days and then abandons ship it's up to you if you want to continue incubating the eggs or not. Don't give them to Pinky to hatch though. She's done a good job and needs to tend to her chicks and get her weight back on now. Pinky will probably raise the chicks until they are about 7 weeks old. I say "probably" because some hens wean them later and some a bit sooner, but the average is around 7 weeks.

If Jamie continues to sit and hatches out her own clutch of chicks let her raise the chicks in with the flock, along with Pinky and her clutch.

 

[mudwoman]

Me again, Sumi,
Jamie has left the nest to free run with everyone else. Pinky pushed ALL the eggs under herself. I truly think she is just being pushy, not broody. When that chick hatches today, I'm gonna move Pinky, her chick, the 2 possible duds to their own portable coop.
If Jamie doesn't come back to sit on the younger eggs, I will buy an incubator and be ready. As all have said that Pinky will not sit on the younger eggs once her chick(s) start running around. I truly believe the other 2 are duds. So she will probably be the mommy of just one chick.
I'm hopeful that Jamie is broody and will hatch those younger eggs herself.
Btw, I have no idea who's eggs these girls are sitting on. Ever since Pinky went broody a few months ago all the hens have layed in her box. Not a single egg in any other box this entire time!


Doe's this sound like a good plan?

YOU ROCK! I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH! AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO HAS HELPED....I THANK YOU ALL!
I'm so excited!!!!!

 

[sumi]

How long has Jamie been off the nest? Broodies can take lengthy breaks from sitting, especially when the weather's good. Mine on nice days will stay off for up to an hour at a time. Wait 30 minutes to an hour and see if Jamie comes back to the eggs before moving or doing anything.

 

[mudwoman]

Okay, Sumi, I agree.
Jamie is back in the nest. She was only gone for 10 minutes or so. Pinky has been doing that every day anyway too.
They both have eggs. Jamie has not yet stolen Pinky's eggs. I'm not really wanting to do the incubator thing. I think I will let nature take it's course.
That being said, can I just leave these 2 moms together in the box and let them hash it out, even after the chick is born?
But....if they fight over the chick, then I will move Pinky and her chick and her 2 possible duds to an outside portable coop and let Jamie hatch the younger eggs. If she really isn't broody and leaves the nest after Pinky and her eggs are gone tomorrow, I will just toss them.
How am I doing!

 

[sumi]

It's up to you. The hens will fight over the chicks if you allow Jamie to intervene and they may or may not settle and share the child rearing duties. Let's see what Jamie decides after you moved Pinkie and her chick(s). How is chick doing?

 

[mudwoman]

I had to away today, got home just before dark. The hole is bigger but, No chick yet.



Also....when I was checking in on them, Jamie was two nesting boxes over, sitting on 3 new eggs, (and the golf ball that is always there!)

During the day, hens must have come in and layed 3 eggs in there and Jamie left Pinky with her 3 and the 2 younger eggs to go sit on the 3 new ones.

So, I took the 3 new eggs for us and placed the 2 younger eggs and added another golf ball so,Jamie would think she was still sitting on 4 eggs.

Now, Pinky can hatch her egg and her possible duds and Jamie can hatch the 2 that are due 8/7.

Now that Jamie has gone broody and has 2 eggs, I believe she will not bother Pinky or her chick when it hatches.

Questions:
Doe's it usually take 3 days+ from pipping to hatching?

Do you think what I did was a good idea?

I think I did the right thing and I'm going to,leave them in the hen house and not move anyone.

I won't be home much tomorrow, (Saturday). I will be gone from 10:00 am to 10:00pm. If I could change my plans I would, but I cannot. I will be home all day Sunday and every day after. I'm sure all will be fine tomorrow without me. Or should I say, I hope all will be fine.

Thanks for keeping tabs on me, I need it!