Is incubation time for eggs the same when they're under a broody hen as when they're in an incubator

[DuckiesGarden]

Hello! I've got two broody bantams that have been on the nest for about 3 weeks+- now. Will their eggs hatch soon or does it take longer for eggs under a hen to hatch? Also, is it okay for me to check them and see if there's actually any chicks in the eggs and take out any that aren't fitting under them? How can I do this without hurting any possible chicks? I don't want them to abandon their eggs because I touched them. I was just going to leave them be and let them do what they're going to do, but I also don't want them sitting on rotten eggs in there either! It's getting warmer and warmer outside and I don't want to wait til I can smell them! One more question I just thought of! What do I do after they hatch? Will they fall out of the nest box? Should I make a nest lower to the coop floor? Or a ramp? Should I just put them in my brooder? I'm working on getting my chicks I got last month used to being outside now, so the brooder will be empty soon.Thanks so much for any help, I've never had any hens that actually went broody before so I'm new to this part of having chickens! It sure is exciting though!

 

[polarbearpilot]

You can take a few eggs out at a time and candle them. Remember to x mark them so that you know you already checked those. Good luck.

 

[annanimal]

Because you have two chickens sitting in the same nest, as i see in the picture, they tend to keep stealing each others eggs and in that case the eggs dont get the warmth that they need and they might not hatch. It has happened to me before!! But like polarbearpilot said try candling them and if you see chicks in them than leave them for a bit longer. Hope that helped!!

 

[annanimal]

As long as you dont break or shake the egg you wont hurt any chicks. Chickens arent like pigeons or sparrows they go back to the eggs even if you have touched them. The chicks will fall out of the nest box if they are high up and they could die if they drop hard of they could freeze, i would advise you put something around the nest so that doesnt happen. If the two hens want to share the chicks than you can make a pen for them all together but if one attacks the other than you should make two different pens. I personally wouldnt put them in the brooder because it is more natural with their mama and she can teach them things that humans cant. I hope i helped if you have anymore questions just ask

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Thanks SO MUCH for the help! I took a flashlight out there when I fed everyone and looked at the eggs-excellent idea about marking them with an X by the way!- and I could see that some of the eggs had the air pocket on the side and the rest was dark and I could see slight movement in the dark side so I left those and took out all the ones that were just yolks inside. Some I couldn't tell, they had the air cell but the rest wasn't as dark but wasn't just a yolk either so I left those too just in case. How can I tell when they're getting close to hatching?

I'm going to do as you suggested and make them their own pen. I've been trying to integrate my chicks I got last month (from a hatchery) outside but the larger chickens almost killed two that slipped under the fence into the larger enclosure so I think it would be best to separate the broody hens now to avoid the larger hens attacking the new ones too.

So now I have a new question! Should I put the nest box they're already in in the new pen or is it okay to make a new box and move the eggs into it? And if I put it on some bricks will that be close enough to the ground so that no one gets hurt if they try to hop out? Maybe I should just set it right on the concrete?

One more! Sorry! Should I put chick starter in with them after they hatch? I don't want them eating the layers mash I feed everyone else and I want to be sure they're getting enough food. I know the mama's are supposed to show them what to eat but I can't let little chicks roam the yard and fields like the mama's do because of the cats and other predators. I can make their new pen on grass next to the main enclosure but I don't think they'd be able to find enough to eat.
I'm sorry to be so ignorant about this process but I just never expected those little banties to go broody! I actually picked some of the breeds I got from the hatchery just for their broody tendencies hoping I'd get some new babies from them. But I thought I had til they got old enough for that to learn everything I'd need to know! Thank you again for your help and patience! I sure do appreciate it!

 

[annanimal]

I dont think that you should move her now because she might get up and leave the eggs! Leave her in her nest, if you could you should lower it and then when the chicks are born take them away from her and put them in a box till the rest of the eggs hatch and when they all hatch than you can put them in the pen/coop.I will talk to you later because i have to go now !!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

I dont think that you should move her now because she might get up and leave the eggs! Leave her in her nest, if you could you should lower it and then when the chicks are born take them away from her and put them in a box till the rest of the eggs hatch and when they all hatch than you can put them in the pen/coop.I will talk to you later because i have to go now !!

I'll look forward to hearing back from you!! Now I've got a whole new set of Q's! I can lower the nest no problem, I'll do that today. But what's this about putting them in a box? Should I leave the box next to her? Will they stay warm enough? There's no electricity in the coop so I can't put a light on them. I know chicks don't need food or water for a couple days because of their yolk so I shouldn't have to put food or water in the box right? And how long should I wait for all the eggs that are going to hatch to hatch? A day, a few days? Jeez, I feel like an idiot. Everything I've tried looking up pretty much says let the mama take care of everything but I think those people are figuring on losing a few for whatever reason. I'd like to avoid losing ANY if at all possible!

 

[annanimal]

Ok so what i do is when they hatch, so that the mama doesnt step on them or squish them, i put them in a box with a blanket on the bottom and a sheet on top very lightly so you dont sufficate them and leave them there to sleep. You should wait for about a day for the rest of the eggs to hatch then put all the chicks together under the mama!! And you dont need to feed them chick starter for the first 24 hours then when you put them in the pen you can give them some food, you can also give them some boiled egg, they love them. Hope that helped!!

 

[Dawns Funy Farm]

I had two banties in the same nest just a week ago, what i did was when the eggs hatched I took one of the banties and the chicks and put them in a small rabbit pen next to the main coop and left the other bantie on the eggs that hadnt hatched yet next morning there was another hatched so it went in the the one in the rabbit pen to . everything going good so far the one banty is still setting they should hatch any day then she will go in a small pen with the newly hatched chicks. now i have two more banties setting in another box together geesh theses birds do like to set
.

 

[annanimal]

Yeah i agree with Dawns Funy Farm if you have two hens than put the hatched chicks in the pen with one of them and let the other hatch the rest of the eggs!! They should be hatching any day now because it only usually takes 21 days give or take a couple so could you please inform me when they hatch?? I am almost as excited as you are, I love chicks!!