how long to leave eggs under a broody hen

[tamik1961]

So, long story but we ended up with a broody hen with 11 eggs under her. Today is day 21 and two of them hatched (so far). So excited, two little chicks! But, I really need to know what to do now. How long should we wait for the other eggs to hatch? What special things do we need to do! We have chick starter. And water. But is there anything else? We have her in a dog kennel inside a small coop all to herself.

 

[Buffbrahmasforever]

She will leave the eggs when she is ready.

 

[blissfulbirds]

We had a broody hen not too long ago hatch only one of the eggs under her, then left her nest. We didn’t want to lose any viable chicks so we candled the eggs and one was still moving, so we transferred it to the incubator and she took it in after it hatched.
If you are unsure if you should still be waiting on any you can quickly candle them to look for movement or internal pips. Sometimes chicks are a bit behind their siblings in hatching so it is normal to have a bit of a wait. Good luck with your new chicks!

 

[tamik1961]

So far we have 6 little babies- 4 showgirls and two regular silkies. And still have 5 more eggs under her. She is the best mama, so sweet. All the babies are eating and drinking, and so cute! Not sure what we are going to do with all of them, I'm sure some are roosters! But right now we are getting our cute fix!!!

 

[CluckerFamily]

Congratulations! When you notice she is spending more time off the eggs than she usually is, she is telling you no more will hatch. I love having my broody hen hatch chicks, it's like Christmas every day another one hatches!

 

[bobbi-j]

I’d give it until tomorrow at least. In my experience, all the chicks that are going to hatch will do so within 24 hours or so of the first one.