Never give up! Never give up! Never give up THE SHIP!

[joebryant]

Had a broody hen with eleven eggs. She tossed out seven eggs over a two-week period. Then she abandoned the remaining four eggs a few days later. She was off of them all day. I had waited and waited for her to go back on them, but she even stopped acting broody. Since it had been a warm day, I thought, "Why not!", so I took them in the house and put them in an incubator that I was using to hatch some eggs for my son's friend who wants to have chickens for himself, his wife and his three-year-old son.

This broody hen's abandoned four eggs went through three days of lockdown at 60-70% humidity until the other eggs hatched, then three days back to 55% humidity, then the last three days, July 2, 3, and 4 (today), back to 66% humidity for their own lockdown.

This morning as of 4 A.M., TWO ARE PIPPING.

 

[Mahonri]

GOOD JOB!!!

Hoping for more.

Mother nature is very forgiving at times.

 

[flgardengirl]

Awesome!!!

 

[KimberlyJ]

WOW!

 

[joebryant]

Where are the life boats? Throw me a life preserver!
Twelve hours and no change whatsoever, i.e., still only two pipped.

 

[joebryant]

Sunday 7:30 A.M.
As of this morning it had been more than 27 hours, and the two had not progressed any more than the original pip hole.
Staring at 7:15 A.M. I began removing the shells and two-three membranes of BOTH eggs. I used nothing but my fingers, and it took me about five minutes to do both. I put the freed chicks back into the incubator. They both seem okay, but time will tell.

Also, there's a third egg that's zipping; hopefully, it'll be able to escape on its own.

I might try to remove the fourth egg's chick if nothing happens before tonight. I might be wrong, but I think they've outgrown the shell and can't get started zipping. That doesn't explain the fourth egg's doing nothing though.

ETA 7:42 A.M. I just now walked in and looked into the incubator. It looks like one has "pooed" out its insides. There's a lot of red, fleshy matter on its bottom. I bet it doesn't make it. What a mess!

ETA 7:50 A.M. Egg number three is zipping right along. I think the chick will have freed itself within the next hour, maybe sooner.

ETA 7:58 A.M. The chick that pooped out a red, gelatin mass that I just removed with a Kleenex, is up and about on its feet. Go figure.

 

[joebryant]

8:40 A.M. The chick in egg three finished zipping, released itself, and is up and about. It's a splash bbs Orpington; the first two are blue.

I thought it best to help #4 immediately since it hadn't even pipped and considering the first two's problems. I tapped a small hole in the eggshell, and some yellow yolk oozed out. I cracked the egg, and it was an infertile one. I threw it away.

I called my son's friend, and he's coming this morning to get the three chicks.
Fine'

 

[Jarsheart]

Wow, what a rollercoaster ride !! Glad it turned out well !!

 

[TriciaHowe]

Congrats Joe

Surprised you didn't just candle the egg to determine that it was clear? Would have been nasty if it had exploded LOL!

 

[joebryant]

Thanks, everyone, I was really surprised to get three out of four. In spite of high humidity those first two were unable to turn in the egg. I'll probably never figure that out; glad I peeled the entire shell/membranes off of them though because they'd've never freed themselves. Stranger still, why did the third one manage to zip... ?

TriciaHowe, that's something else that was strange. I DID candle that egg, and it was as dark inside as the other three. That's why I was floored when the yellow yolk seeped out of the small hole I made to start removing the shell for what I thought was a chick inside. Yeah, sure glad it didn't explode.