incubation

[lynncasey1]

my hen was killed last night by a coyote around 2-3 this morning. we just picked up her eggs that she has been sitting on for about 2 weeks and they are cold, it has been over 10 hours since she last sat on them. they are in a box with a heating pad on them, will they be ok? what else do i need to do to get them to hatch? thanks for any help.

 

[Percheron chick]

You need to go buy an incubator. They need to be close to 99*. I doubt the heating pad can get that hot. Put a heat lamp on them for now. You might be able to coax a few to hatch. No harm trying. Candle them first.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

The eggs need to be kept around 99.5F (if they are still viable after cooling off for such a long period of time). It would help to know what your weather is like. If it was pretty mild while they weren't being sat on, they might be okay. If it was cold, their chances aren't going to be that great. If you've got a bright flashlight, scoop them up, take them somewhere fairly dark and shine the light into the fat end of the egg. If you see movement inside, they're still alive (though they could be even if you don't see movement).

If I were you, I'd run out to the store and pick up a cheap incubator or make one yourself real quick and let them finish off. I don't think the heating pad is going to work, they have a tendency to get quite hot. And, as the eggs near hatch time, they'll need humidity to keep the chicks from getting shrink wrapped in the shells. You'll also need to turn them 3 times a day to keep the embryos from sticking to one side of the shell or the other. If you decide to try to incubate them, there are lots of great threads in this section to help you get started, if you haven't already read through them.

Good luck!

 

[FarmerMac]

Sorry to hear about your hen. Agree with Percheron chick, I would candle them first to see if there is any movement.

 

[lynncasey1]

in answer to the question about our weather, it has rained all night though the weather has been in the 60's at night. i am going to see about getting an incubator now

 

[bobbi-j]

in answer to the question about our weather, it has rained all night though the weather has been in the 60's at night. i am going to see about getting an incubator now

That's what I'd do. The worst that can happen is that the chicks don't hatch. On the upside, you will be able to hatch chicks when you want to, rather than waiting for a hen to go broody.

 

[Purpletie3]

...hope things work out for you! So sorry about your hen. Keep us posted! Hope the incubator works!

 

[MeepBeep]

You need to go buy an incubator.  They need to be close to 99*.  I doubt the heating pad can get that hot.  Put a heat lamp on them for now.  You might be able to coax a few to hatch.  No harm trying.  Candle them first.

A generic heating pad can easily push well beyond the safe limits of incubation, usually they go upwards of 180°F...

Same with a heat lamp, they can easily cook eggs...

In either instance the temp needs to closely be monitored as chances are high the max temp of 107° (give or take) can happen an kill the embryo quite fast...

To the OP before you put them in the incubator make sure the incubator is balanced out and running at the proper temp with a known GOOD thermometer, never trust the ones they install on the incubator...

Good luck on your eggs...