Need hatchday help ASAP!!!

[Trinitydraco]

It's day 20 for eggs under a broody. Last night we had a fox attack. She is fine and secure but the commotion caused a couple eggs to get trampled and my lady is out of sorts. She hasn't abandoned the nest but keeps getting up and down. I have internal pips on the eggs but no external yet. I am worried about them shrink wraping once they pip. She is off the nest right now but still near it. I have the incubator warmed up and ready but am not sure if I should take the eggs or wait and see. What should I do!?

 

[Helloworld]

She is getting up because she knows it is time and she feels those eggs starting to move. Let her take care of them. She should have fresh water so she can wet chest to keep humidity up. Forget about fox. Don’t take eggs. She is prepping for the event. Don’t pull from her, put all of them with her in a secure cage inside a barn or other shelter where fox can’t get. Your fixing to be a grandparent! Congrats! After that, run some electric about 6 inches off the ground and let the fox come back. Btw, they are easy to catch with the proper size trap that you can purchase from TSC or a feed store or amazon. Place it away from coop about 20-30 ft directly on top of fox tracks. We also use the solar lights in all of our locked cages, bury metal sheeting 2 ft down underground. We house a fox den on our property. I let them have babies every year and not one issue yet. But our birds live in Fort Knox.

 

[sumi]

I'd leave her to take care of them unless she's up more than down, in which case I'd put them in the incubator until nightfall and then replace them under her while she's sleeping, so they can hatch.

Hope you can get hold of that fox and didn't have any losses.

 

[Trinitydraco]

Okay. It's been 45 minutes and she is still running around. At what point should I take the eggs? All 6 eggs are internally pipped and alive as of 10 minutes ago. I don't want to mess with them too much. I have fresh food and water right near the nest and I cleaned the nest a bit while she was up from the crushed eggs. thanks

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Not a single one of my hens wets their chest to keep humidity up. Chicks under hens don't shrink wrap because their isn't such a huge difference between humidity when they do get up. Broody's have slowed their metabolism in order to not need to relieve themselves on the eggs... none of my broody's get food or water near by UNTIL chicks start hatching. Otherwise they all go to the normal location.

I would likely put her in a box or kennel that is darkened and quite with the eggs in a nest.

Otherwise consider giving her some other (non fertile) eggs to try and return to... and return the eggs/chicks to her after dark or after hatch, if she has continued to behave broody.

Sorry to hear about your attack! Hope your little family hatches strong.

 

[Trinitydraco]

I'd leave her to take care of them unless she's up more than down, in which case I'd put them in the incubator until nightfall and then replace them under her while she's sleeping, so they can hatch.

Hope you can get hold of that fox and didn't have any losses.

So it's been almost 2 hours and she is still not back on the nest. She is running around the yard happy as can be! I put the eggs into the incubator as it's only in the 60's outside and I don't dare leave them to get any colder. I want to try putting them back under her tonight like you suggested. However, if they are hatching should I take them out or wait until they are fully hatched so I don't shrink wrap them? If there are no external pips I will pop them under but if the shell is breached what should I do? Also, do you think she will take them back after they hatch?

 

[sumi]

So it's been almost 2 hours and she is still not back on the nest. She is running around the yard happy as can be! I put the eggs into the incubator as it's only in the 60's outside and I don't dare leave them to get any colder. I want to try putting them back under her tonight like you suggested. However, if they are hatching should I take them out or wait until they are fully hatched so I don't shrink wrap them? If there are no external pips I will pop them under but if the shell is breached what should I do? Also, do you think she will take them back after they hatch?

If they are hatching, leave them in the incubator and see if she will accept the chicks when they are ready. Be prepared that she may not though! It sounds like the attack knocked the broody ideas out of her a bit, unfortunately.

 

[Trinitydraco]

I put 3 infertile eggs back in the nest to entice her back....we'll see