I am new to chickens and have 10 bantams. Two hens have been sitting for over 28 days. I tried to candle them, but without much luck. I have seen them mating, however. I let the eggs go for two extra weeks and decided that today I would dump them. Well, I opened one and there was a baby chick, that was alive because I could feel the heartbeat with my finger. The yolk was taking up about 1/3 of the egg. It appeared to be fully feathered, but the eyes seemed to be the size of dimes. Anyway, I felt horrible about the baby chick, but am now in a quandry as to how long to leave the eggs. I have 5 roosters, so have taken all but the tamest one out. Should I take him out too? Would he hurt the baby chicks? I do have another cage that I could move the hens, eggs, and nesting boxes into, but don't know if I should do it now or wait until they hatch (if they do). Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!
Keep the rooster(s) and other adults away from the babies-they will kill them. I would isolate the broodies with their nests and eggs and let them hatch the chicks. Hopefully somebody else with more experience with mixed ages will answer your questions in more detail. Good luck.
I have my rooster with my hen. Tho they are silkies and silkie roosters seem to take more to babies then other breeds. This is the secound time I have left him in with my hen and chicks. He did great the first time hen hasnt got off the nest this time yet so I will be keeping a watchful eye and if he seems aggressive towards the chicks I will remove him. I leave him where he is because he is real close with the hen and I don't have any where to put him. I say if you have some place to put the roosters I'd remove all the roosters just incase but if you cannot just keep an eye on him with the chicks.