Our little incubator broke, so we haven't hatched chicks in months. We have 38 chickens (RIR, Jersey Giants, Bantam Cochins, and a Japanese Bantam). One of our Jersey Giants fought me every time I went out to collect eggs, so finally I decided to let her have her way. She was originally sitting on 5 eggs, but I didn't mark them and 5 turned into 8. I'm not sure which we're the original 5, and how many days later those other 3 got into the nest. 2 days ago, day 21, I listened to the eggs when she got off of them to eat. I heard chirping from one, and yesterday it hatched! This morning another one has pipped. We want to let her do this all naturally, but I haven't seen her get off the nest with that first baby for it to get anything to drink yet, should I be worried? Should I remove the chicks when they hatch and take them to water and then give them back to momma? How long will she wait for the others to hatch? So many questions.
