Incubation Period question emergency

[Jesse L]

So i had a hen abandon her eggs, but i had another hen sitting on nothing. I gave them to her. Its been a few days so i wanted to crack one open and see if there was even anything in them. When i cracked it open there was a fully developed chick

It was moving so im pretty sure they are alive still.

My question is how long until they will be hatching? They had not yet eaten the yolk in the eggs but the chick was completely developed, hard beak, scaley legs everything.

This isn't really an emergency, but im dying to know!

 

[madamwlf]

It takes around 21 days for chicken eggs to incubate. Do you know when your hen started sitting on them?

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi Jesse! From your description, it sounds like they could be hatching within the next day or so.
Good luck!

Lisa

 

[peepblessed]

Definitely, just a day or two but don't get too impatient!

And welcome to BYC!!

 

[cornishbantamfarm]

i had the same thing happen, dont worry you will gain alot of knowlegde with owning your birds

 

[ki4got]

i would suggest investing in an egg candler... that'll save having to crack eggs again for the most part.

there's been a good article about incubation, and even though it's geared at incubators it's still handy knowledge if you're using broodies.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=491013

it's quite detailed but also fairly easy to understand I think... read it through and that'll give you an idea what your eggs/chicks go through and what to look for when you're candling eggs.

good luck on the chicks.

 

[dandydoodle]

Is the little one you cracked open okay??

 

[Jesse L]

Quote:
well no, its dead. i cracked open the egg, and it wasn't ready to hatch yet, so no. its not okay.

 

[Lacrystol]

DON'T CRACK THEM, you should have candled them, even though it's close to hatching time, you can still see them. If you pay close attention to the big egg sometimes by looking closely you can actually see the chick pushing on the membrane trying to get to the shell.

 

[Gypsy07]

If they're fully developed but haven't absorbed the yolk yet, it should only be another day or two until they're ready to start hatching. Maybe three or four days till you see fluffy little chicks peeping out from under her wings...