citychicks99
Songster
Two of my hens went broody at different times and other hens continued laying eggs in the nest. I tried marking the eggs with a colored pencil but all of it rubbed off so I have no idea of the timeline.
The first hen started brooding on June 7. Exactly three weeks later four chicks hatched. Eight eggs were left so I moved mama #1 and her chicks into their own place. A few days later, one chick hatched under mama #2. This was on Monday. I wasn't sure if I should let her keep sitting on the rest of the eggs so I candled the rest to see if I should toss them.
I don't have a lot of experience candling eggs but one of them got poo on it so I was pretty sure that one was dead. I thought they were all dead until I saw vein movement in one. I held it still in case it was moving from when I moved it but nope, veins were pulsing! I was going to toss the other five but I checked them again just to be safe and I swore I saw feathers in one of them and I saw it move. The other two eggs are blueish green brown so it was really difficult to see. I put them all back under the hen except for the one with poo. I cracked that one open and sure enough, it was dead and smelled rotten. I think it died pretty early on because a body didn't even form.
I'm still a little undecided on what to do. Should I wait until the mama hen abandons her nest? I know it's riskier now because the one chick is eating and drinking and pooping. I don't have an incubator for the rest of the eggs. I saw this video for a makeshift incubator and I do have everything she used in the video. I'd probably leave it in my bathroom for the humidity. I tried this in the fall with abandoned eggs but I think they were all dead already. They were blue so I couldn't really see. I am a little nervous about doing it myself but if she abandons them I will try. But should I take them from her now so she and her baby can enjoy themselves in the sun?
Also, do broodies eat their eggs while brooding? I counted fifteen once but after the chicks hatched I only counted twelve total including the ones that hatched.
The first hen started brooding on June 7. Exactly three weeks later four chicks hatched. Eight eggs were left so I moved mama #1 and her chicks into their own place. A few days later, one chick hatched under mama #2. This was on Monday. I wasn't sure if I should let her keep sitting on the rest of the eggs so I candled the rest to see if I should toss them.
I don't have a lot of experience candling eggs but one of them got poo on it so I was pretty sure that one was dead. I thought they were all dead until I saw vein movement in one. I held it still in case it was moving from when I moved it but nope, veins were pulsing! I was going to toss the other five but I checked them again just to be safe and I swore I saw feathers in one of them and I saw it move. The other two eggs are blueish green brown so it was really difficult to see. I put them all back under the hen except for the one with poo. I cracked that one open and sure enough, it was dead and smelled rotten. I think it died pretty early on because a body didn't even form.
I'm still a little undecided on what to do. Should I wait until the mama hen abandons her nest? I know it's riskier now because the one chick is eating and drinking and pooping. I don't have an incubator for the rest of the eggs. I saw this video for a makeshift incubator and I do have everything she used in the video. I'd probably leave it in my bathroom for the humidity. I tried this in the fall with abandoned eggs but I think they were all dead already. They were blue so I couldn't really see. I am a little nervous about doing it myself but if she abandons them I will try. But should I take them from her now so she and her baby can enjoy themselves in the sun?
Also, do broodies eat their eggs while brooding? I counted fifteen once but after the chicks hatched I only counted twelve total including the ones that hatched.
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