Hen abandoned eggs day 19

[Gypsi]

My hen moved from the 19 day old eggs this morning to freshly laid eggs and I didn't go out until afternoon. The eggs were cool to the touch. I have moved them to an incubator in hopes I'm not too late, trying to figure out whether to leave it dry or raise humidity, no fan , thermostat (homemade) is at 99 F.

7 are brown eggs, candling doesn't give much results, they are just dark and light doesn't penetrate. I did candle once a week, they definitely aren't infertile eggs.

 

[JaeG]

If light doesn't penetrate I'd set them up for 'lockdown'. Sounds like they are full and near hatch time. Was the air cell drawn down on one side or still pretty straight? The air cell draws down just before they start to work on pipping internally (which is when they'll start peeping). They are amazingly resilient so hopefully they'll hatch out just fine. Your hen may adopt them once they hatch if you want her to (it's certainly easier than brooding them yourself). Good luck!

 

[Birdinhand]

they can handle up to 12 hours without heat, they tend to just go dormant and then the hatch is delayed by that many hours. I would have been tempted to just put that hen back on the nest and keep remove access to the other eggs. aside from the eggs having trouble, I'd be worried having her start a whole new brood cycle, it is very hard on mother hens to do even one full cycle as they kind of go into a semi fast/trance. when those eggs hatch, I'd wait till night and swap out the eggs for the chicks and put the other eggs into the incubator and let her raise them so she can go back to eating and moving about more normally and recoup.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Another good reason to NEVER set a hen on eggs in the chicken coop but to always keep your setting hens in a small and did I forget to say PRIVATE enclosure.

Hens are not feathered Einsteins, they can't tell much difference between one egg or the other, and to expect a hen to recognise a particular nest full of eggs as her own is an impossibility.

Hens are turned out by mother nature to set in a secluded and private location, we violate our hens basic nature by ignoring their druthers.

Good luck and remember to do better next time. I am with Birdinhand on what to do.

A lot will depend on how long your hen has been setting because setting behavior is a hormonal thing that is not meant to be permanent. When the hormones wear off the hen will quit setting and return to her flock.

 

[Gypsi]

She absolutely refused to sit these eggs yesterday, I moved them to a cat carrier in the rooster coop (which is my brooder coop) and moved the roo to the hens run. She was all alone no other eggs and would have nothing to do with them. I put 2 of yesterdays eggs in the cat carrier and she is sitting them. I figured to slip these under her after they hatch?

If it matters she is a 4 year old Black Australorp/Buckeye hen who doesn't lay often anymore

 

[aart]

My hen moved from the 19 day old eggs this morning to freshly laid eggs and I didn't go out until afternoon.

Did you try just to put her back on the right nest?

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Just hatch it yourself! Only a few more days to go!

 

[Gypsi]

She refused the nest. 2 chicks hatched today. expecting 3 tomorrow and 3 tuesday if I got the lay date correct. Now how do I get her to accept the chicks?

 

[Gypsi]

I have her isolated sitting eggs from yesterday in a cat carrier my brooder coop (hardware cloth, etc to protect small birds. Or she was. This afternoon she was running around in the attached run, hopefully she will set in the carrier again tonight so i can smuggle chicks in .

 

[Gypsi]

The broody isn't broody any more. How do I slip chicks under her when she is on a perch 3 ft up? .....