My bantam hatching eggs

[ekeating]

My bantam is laying on her eggs and my white leg horns eggs. I haven't collected the eggs because I feel I am stressing her out. I also collected so.e and found baby chicks in 2 so I put one back the other I broke open on accident. When or if she hatches some will I eventually be able to collect eggs again?

 

[JessicaDotta]

That's so interesting! I haven't yet had a hen hatch chicks. Any chance you could look online and see how old the chick in the egg was? It might give you an idea of how much longer she should be sitting.

Do broody hens keep laying?

You could also get an incubator and transfer her eggs there.

I'll be curious to see how this turns out.

 

[ekeating]

That's so interesting! I haven't yet had a hen hatch chicks. Any chance you could look online and see how old the chick in the egg was? It might give you an idea of how much longer she should be sitting.

Do broody hens keep laying?

You could also get an incubator and transfer her eggs there.

I'll be curious to see how this turns out.

I can keep you posted! I do not have an incubator

 

[ekeating]

I can keep you posted! I do not have an incubator

I believe she has been sitting on the eggs for 14 to 22 days now. She comes out to eat in the am then back on for the rest of the day.

 

[JessicaDotta]

I know 21 days is the typical hatch. So I guess she has about a week (give or take) left. I hope she (and you) get some chicks!

 

[ekeating]

Me too! It will be cool to see if we get any. This is my first year with my chicks

 

[JessicaDotta]

I started with chicks, but this year I have my first hatch (incubator). Only four of my eggs hatched. I have 12 more in now, watching the humidity levels better.

You might be able to candle some eggs to see how they're doing.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@aart

 

[aart]

OhBoy what a clustertangle!

Usually, one would wait until they were sure the bird was broody,
then give her fresh fertilized eggs all at the same time,
marking that day on the calendar so you'd know when to expect them to hatch.
These eggs would be clearly marked, and if other birds have access to the nest one would check every day for any eggs laid in the broodies nest so they could be removed.

What you have now is a staggered hatch with eggs you have no idea how old they are and if there may have been other egg laid later.
Some will hatch, if you have a male around to fertilize the eggs that are there.
A couple-few days after they start hatching, the broody will bring the chicks off the nest,
and the rest of the eggs should be removed and discarded(or put into an incubator).

The broody will care for the chicks until she's ready to 'wean' them.
It will likely be another week or three before she starts laying again,
unless she decides to molt.

 

[Ridgerunner]

@aart you have such a way with words. I do like that one.

@ekeating The situation you are in isn't that unusual on here for someone's first time with a broody hen. Hopefully we can help you do better the next time.

I haven't collected the eggs because I feel I am stressing her out.

After this is over collect the eggs every day. As long as they are not broody it does not stress them out. Leaving eggs creates a mess.

I also collected so.e and found baby chicks in 2 so I put one back the other I broke open on accident.

How did you determine one had a baby chick in it without cracking the egg open? That could be important.

Next time you have a broody hen collect all the eggs you want her to hatch. When you have those, mark them so you can tell which belong and start them at the same time. She needs to be able to comfortably cover all of them so don't give her too any. Different hens and different eggs come in different sizes so I can't tell you how many is OK. Then after the other hens have laid an egg every day remove any that don't belong. Don't worry about stressing them out, they get very it really fast, pretty much as fast as you turn your back. The consequences of not removing them daily is much worse than leaving them there for you and her. As long as you remove them daily you can eat them.

She comes out to eat in the am then back on for the rest of the day.

Good, she is doing exactly what she is supposed to do.

I believe she has been sitting on the eggs for 14 to 22 days now.

You are not sure how long she has been setting. That makes it harder.

But now, what can you do with this hatch? Even without an incubator you have different options. What does the nest look like? Is she covering al the eggs she has or can you see any eggs when she is on the nest? If she can cover all of them I'd mark them and leave all of them. Then start checking under her daily and remove any that don't belong. Yes, she will act stressed when you take her off the nest so you can mark the eggs and them collect any that don't belong. She will get over it. Quickly.

If eggs are poking out then things are different. You can continue after marking as above. But the potential problem is that if any are sticking out they can cool off enough to die, then get pushed back under her. Then another egg gets pushed out to die. That's part of why you need to remove any eggs that don't belong every day, to prevent this.

When a hen goes truly broody she stops laying eggs. So any of her eggs should all have started incubation at the same time. If you can tell which eggs are hers and not the leghorn or some other chickens, you could leave those and remove any others to get the number down. If there aren't so many that some have been pushed out to die those all should be OK.

Another option is to candle the eggs and try to determine which are alive and furthest along, then mark and keep those. That's not always really easy.

You are not in a great spot right now but it is one that a lot of people have been in. Your next time will go a lot better. Good luck with this one.