Help

[Annie Bubble]

a few days ago coyotes got into my run and killed all of my chickens and ate most of my eggs. Yesterday i found two eggs still intact. I'm hoping they are fertilized. My questions are. Can chicks still hatch from them even though they haven't been sat on in a while? and, I don't have an incubator what would be the best way to give them enough heat? I have them on a heating pad now, it's on low and i have a towel over them to keep them warmer. I have looked up how to make an incubator but the kind of light bulbs every website i've looked at no one sells anymore. In those videos they say i should have a sponge in there for humidity. what would be the best way to make an "incubator" with either a heating bad or a heat lamp?

 

[beegirl4]

a few days ago coyotes got into my run and killed all of my chickens and ate most of my eggs. Yesterday i found two eggs still intact. I'm hoping they are fertilized. My questions are. Can chicks still hatch from them even though they haven't been sat on in a while? and, I don't have an incubator what would be the best way to give them enough heat? I have them on a heating pad now, it's on low and i have a towel over them to keep them warmer. I have looked up how to make an incubator but the kind of light bulbs every website i've looked at no one sells anymore. In those videos they say i should have a sponge in there for humidity. what would be the best way to make an "incubator" with either a heating bad or a heat lamp?

I know how you feel. A fox got two of my chickens the other day. Anyway, I am totally new to all of this, but I was in a slightly similar situation a couple of weeks ago. I rescued a few goose eggs in a flood and did not know how many days they had been "incubated". I kept them warm by filling pillowcases with rice and heating them. Believe it or not, I kept this up for 3 days! Then I went and bought a little heating pad. I used that for two days. I candled the eggs to see if they were viable and approximately how far along they were. This website has been very helpful. I approximated that mine were about 11/12 days in. (Goose eggs take 28+ days to hatch) I ended up making an incubator out of a small cooler. I looked on youtube. I had to play around a lot with the light bulb- I kept trying to figure out what was better , 11watt vs. 20watt. It is hard to adjust the humidity, but eventually I did it. So needless to say, my eggs had been through a ton. I am now on what I would guess is day 29. They are in the process of hatching (I can hear chirping in the egg), but who knows if they will survive. I'm shocked they made it as far as they did with my incompetence.
I would definitely candle your eggs first to see if you can spot movement and an air cell. Hopefully someone else here can give you more ideas. I just wanted you to know that you are not alone- they might have a chance. Good luck and I'm sorry for your loss.
Rachel

 

[Annie Bubble]

Thanks!

 

[kingsfarm]

me too, am sorry for your loss...I lost 26 Isa Brown chicks to a racoon invasion...cemented around edge of coop...Its a sad day when that happens,..I don't know what I would do if it happened again......use every precaution, I lock them in at night....bless you...G

 

[Annie Bubble]

aw 26, thats horrible, so sorry.