Lockdown for natural hen hatching?

[Andie32]

I’ve heard of lockdown for incubator hatching, but does that still apply for natural hatching? I’ve got two and they normally take a 10-30 min stretch and eat in the evenings, but I’m not sure they did last night. (I had to step indoors so I couldn’t watch.) should I try to make them get up and check the eggs for pipping or problems, or should I just let it be??

 

[The Happster]

Usually I take my hen off twice a day for a monitored break until day 18, then I take her off once a day and when they start pipping I leave her to it. The eggs should be able to hold a bit of their heat by lockdown. As far as checking how they are doing....I'd pretty much leave it to the hen unless they are very late hatching.

 

[Andie32]

Well I made them get up because I found another eaten egg. One of them had eaten through four eggs now in the last four days. So we did some egg switching around. So far they haven’t seemed to notice. Hopefully we can make it another day or two to hatch

 

[The Happster]

Hopefully it isn't the hen. Are you able to move her to another pen, with the eggs? It might help. It could be another hen.

 

[Andie32]

There are only two of them in there and they keep to their self with their own nest. It’s only her for eggs that have come up busted an eaten. So while I had them up I switched her eggs over to the other hand and left her three of her own so hopefully today or tomorrow we can get them to hatch and everything will be OK. None of my other hens can get to them.