never hatched before

[farmerbob]

I had a hen free ranging and found her on a clutch of 18 eggs. Rather than have her Fox bait I decided to hatch the eggs myself in an incubator. I have one egg starting to hatch, but never have done this before my anticipation of a new arrival makes me want to help it along and crack the shell more to help it out. fundamentally i know that thats wrong. how long does a normal hatch take from start to finish?

 

[math ace]

21 days

 

[math ace]

18 eggs... Wow, she has been busy talking all her girlfriends into sharing her great nesting spot I have relocated hen and nest into dog carriers before. Then placed the dog carrier in the coop with the rest of the birds. The mom has no desire to leave the nest, so you can lock her up in the carrier with food and water.

That way she won't be fox bait and she will still be with the flock.

 

[farmerbob]

i know that the incubation time is 21 days my question is how long does it take for a ckick to get out of its shell once it starts to hatch. i have one that has started a dimesize hole but hasen't progressed much further

 

[suki'smom]

Give it 24 hours before, carefully, assisting. Some take 5 minutes to hatch and some take many hours. Keep in mind that if they need help hatching they may have physical problems.

 

[farmerbob]

thank you so much

 

[suki'smom]

No problem