- Jul 30, 2013
- 6
- 0
- 10
I am so so sad, the eggs under my broody rolled out from under her and are stone cold. I put them back under her and she is happily sitting on them. How long can the eggs stay alive after leaving the nest?
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Why did the eggs roll out? Do you have a good lip on the nest to keep that from happening? Without a good lip, chicks might fall out, not just eggs.
I’ve had broodies wind up sitting on the wrong nest for hours. When they come back from their daily constitutional another hen is laying an egg in their nest so they set on another nest. The last time that happened the eggs were stone cold. I put the broody back on the right nest and she hatched 11 out of 11. Don’t give in to panic when you might not even have a problem. Late in incubation those chicks are pretty well developed and are generating a lot of heat internally. It’s not a good thing to happen but also not necessarily a disaster. It happens to a lot of us. Be patient.
If those eggs are bad, you need chicks that are very young, the younger the better. Under three days usually works really well. If they are older than that it gets more iffy. The best thing to do is slip the chicks under the hen at night after everything is dark and she has settled for the night. Using as little light and commotion, just slip the chicks under her in your hand, one at a time. When she wakes up the next morning, she should think they are hers.
This works almost all the time but you are dealing with living animals. There have been times the broody will not accept those chicks. Check fairly early the next morning to see how it is going. You may need to take the chicks and raise them yourself, but I’d expect he hen to take them.
Good luck!