Help please

[ASwink]

This is the first time I’ve hatched chicks and 5 have hatched between yesterday and today. Well there are still more eggs in the nest but the hen has gotten off the nest and is walking around with the new chicks. Will she go back to the nest with the other eggs or is she just done? She hasn’t been on the nest all day so do I just need to wait and see or get an incubator to see if they will hatch? This is the hens first time hatching.

 

[GoYaya]

She might go back to the eggs if they aren’t bad. The mom will know if there are anymore babies left to hatch. If you have a another broody hen you could always put them under her or in the incubator. Good luck!

 

[ASwink]

Thanks! Luckily my sis in law had an incubator that I got set up now with the rest in it. I swear I heard peeping from an egg but it could have been my imagination haha.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Some hens will leave, some will go back and some will stay if there are eggs, rather or not they're bad eggs

 

[sourland]

Most hens will leave the nest within 24 to 36 hours after the first chick hatches. They are genetically programed to do so that the chicks can eat. This is one of the reasons staggered hatches can be a disaster.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If you want her to sit longer, you can put food and water within her reach. Works for me

 

[ASwink]

I got to watch this one hatch this morning and another one has pipped.