My hen was sitting on a bunch of eggs so we moved her inside a brooder inside the coop. The floor of the brooder is deep in shavings. She hatched four chicks last Thurs. and got off the nest and buried the eggs. Now this brooder is about 4 feet long by 2 1/2 feet wide. All enclosed in chicken wire so the flock can see/hear any new additions. So yesterday I go in there and find two eggs partially buried...they were ice cold eggs. I tossed them...I mean TOSSED THEM OUT. Tossed them out into the cold rain. When I left the coop I went and looked at the eggs.
Both had broken open of course and one had a dead cold chick in it, not quite finished developing. The other chick was cheeping
I ran it into the house, gave it a very warm bath and blew dry it. I then put it into a brooder box in the house with a lamp for heat. IT SURVIVED ME!!! I brought the other chicks and mama into the house and they are all in the brooder box with the survivor. Now I go into the coop to clean out the brooder box out there.........shovel finds eggs, shovel cracked open an egg....ANOTHER LIVE CHICK. Now ice cold but it and the other eggs are now in the incubator to see if they can be saved. I never heard of such a thing. I thought once the eggs were cold they were lost?? This last chick still hasn't come out of the shell yet but is cheeping some. This has been a very weird experience! Also a lesson learned!
