Nervous chicken grandma ;)

[pgorby]

My first batch of eggs are being hatched by one of my girls. She is up off the ground in a nesting box and 6 eggs hatched about 40 hours ago and she is still laying on 6 eggs. Do I just leave her alone and let her take care of things? I do not know if other eggs were snuck in on her after she started brooding and therefore will not be on the same "schedule." Will she continue to sit as long as the eggs are viable? What if the chicks who have hatched decide to start falling out of the coop and I can't keep them in with her? Thanks for any help

 

[azygous]

You have some options. You can move her to a nest lower to the ground. It's best to place her someplace where the other hens won't mess with her babies.

You can candle her unhatched eggs to see if something's inside. A flashlight cupped under the egg will either shine through, nothing developing, or it'll be blocked by a dark embryo.

If you feel you already have enough hatchlings, nothing immoral about tossing the remaining eggs in the garbage.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Don't worry, the hen will take care of everything! If some of the eggs are bad, the hen won't continue to sit of those. She will probably sit on eggs that haven't hatched for a couple days because she and the chicks won't be going anywhere for a while. But, if some eggs haven't hatched and you are worrying she won't keep them warm, then you can put them in some heat until they hatch and then either raise them yourself or just slip the babies under the hen. The chicks will stay with their mama always.

Good luck!

Check out these helpful links too.

http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2013/05/annie-and-her-chicks-hatching-eggs.html
http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/01/so-youve-got-broody-hen.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/guide-to-letting-broody-hens-hatch-and-raise-chicks