Hen abanded the nest and now one of the abandoned eggs is chirping. Anything I can do?

[SuzanneM]

Okay, a bit of background. We live in costa rica and are trying out the whole homesteading thing but have no experience so we are certainly learning as we go.
We host a missionary family who knows a bit more about gardening and animals than us but they are gone for a few weeks visiting friends.

So, a few weeks ago a hen decided to sit on eggs, so I placed several under her and they hatched on Saturday.. A few eggs didn’t hatch or were bad and those have been removed. However, one egg was placed under her 2 days after the others. The missionary family we host has a 13 year old son. He’s saved his money and bought a rooster and hen of some special tiny breed that people around here like for pets, he wants to raise them and sell for some spending money. The hen laid her first egg just under 2 days after the other eggs were placed under the hen so I figured it was worth a shot and added it hoping to surprise him. Stupid me. The hen did sit on the egg for almost 3 extra days but she abandoned the nest today. I figured it was a lost cause but I kept the egg in a warm location just in case and now it’s chirping. Is there anything at all I can do? I have no incubator. I do have a lamp I could use but I’m not sure about the temp, etc..

Okay, I just checked and there is now a hole in the egg..
Would love any input at all guys! I’m clueless but feel amazingly awful that I might have caused this chicken to grow just to kill it! I know it’s just an egg but I feel really mean right now LOL

s

 

[chickychick1]

Don't move it now, even in an incubator you're not supposed to move the eggs the last several days. You may need more humidity not sure how you could accomplish that... maybe put a humidifier in the room.

 

[SuzanneM]

We don't have a humidifier.. in this country we have dehumidifiers to keep stuff from molding LOL. We currently live in a little one room cabin and I could run the dryer.. that certainly upps the humidity in the room.

 

[chickychick1]

If using the clothes dryer increases the humidity its worth a try. Hope all goes well !

 

[chickychick1]

Make sure it stays nice and warm. An incubator temperature is around 100 degrees. When the chick hatches he will be wet so it will need to stay warm.

 

[wholewheatchicken]

I'm not sure either, but it seems like everything must be okay the way it is if it pipped and is chirping. How warm is it where you have it? I don't know if I would tinker with it if it is going fine the way it is. You're in another country so is the ambient air humid?

 

[wholewheatchicken]

Sorry, I see you posted it is humid where you are. I say leave it alone. It has lived thus far without a hen and seems to be coming into the world on its own. I read a post recently on here about someone who bought hatching eggs and then killed them when they arrived by storing them in a cool environment before putting in the incubator and killed them. The person she bought them from had stored them in the barn where it was 100 degrees so they were developing on their own. And my mother-in-law loves to tell the story about Little Timmy, an egg she hatched out after the momma hen died. She wrapped it up and put it next to the coal stove and it did just fine on its own. This was probably 70 years ago.

 

[SuzanneM]

I had brought it inside near a light (not too close.. it's not hot but is warmish).. I'm leaving it there and it's hatching now. Can I introduce this one to the momma and other chicks if it makes it?

 

[wholewheatchicken]

If it is hatching, the temp and humidity where it was was perfect. If it hatches, the momma hen should take it. I did this not too long ago and just slipped some babies under the hen and she didn't notice. She just thought it was hers. I tucked it up under a wing and let momma and baby work it out and kept an eye on them very closely for the first day. You will know if she doesn't want it because she will try to peck it and you will need to take it away. How many chicks does she have with her now?

 

[wholewheatchicken]

I should have said I put four more babies under the momma. She only had one baby herself and it was two days old when I put the others under there. Please keep us updated. It is a very interesting story.