Leave and Die?

[The Wolf Queen]

Thanks I need it. LOL

 

[dancingbear]

Ok, I've told this saga before, but here goes again:

I've got some broodies that get confused about which nest is theirs. I had one last year, who kept getting back on the wrong nest nearly everyday. Not even always the same wrong nest. I thought her eggs were dead from being chilled repeatedly, but thought I'd leave them anyway, until she gave up. She started with around 10 eggs, I forget for sure. An egg got broken in the nest, all the others were icky. I washed them, and put them back, with clean straw in the nest, stuck the hen back on the nest. This happened a few more times. She ended up with 6 eggs, that had been chilled over and over, and washed at least 3 or 4 times. The black Sharpie I'd marked them with was almost gone, from being washed so many times. I was sure they were all dead. Then, day 21, 5 hatched. They were fine and healthy, too.

Then I've had eggs in the 'bator, been excruciatingly careful, and lost over half of them.

So go figure. Stick them back under the hen, cross your fingers, and wait. These eggs can be amazingly tough, sometimes.