Not sure what to do with broody hens?

Date sort Score sort
Ahhhh! I just kicked my hen off the eggs to stretch her legs and found the one and only EE egg had a huge crack! I quickly looked up what to do and melted some wax on the crack, the membrane was still intact and since we are close to hatch I have my fingers crossed!!! I will be watching that one very carefully to make sure if it starts pipping it wont have trouble. Do you know if candling the egg will look different when it is ready to hatch? Today it looked like a dark mass with an air sac at the one end. Also do they usually pip on the up facing side or something so I can aim the cracked wax side away from the most likely pip site?
 
KrystalRose said:
Ahhhh! I just kicked my hen off the eggs to stretch her legs and found the one and only EE egg had a huge crack! I quickly looked up what to do and melted some wax on the crack, the membrane was still intact and since we are close to hatch I have my fingers crossed!!! I will be watching that one very carefully to make sure if it starts pipping it wont have trouble. Do you know if candling the egg will look different when it is ready to hatch? Today it looked like a dark mass with an air sac at the one end. Also do they usually pip on the up facing side or something so I can aim the cracked wax side away from the most likely pip site?
Click to expand...
Answered your other post:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/653093/cracked-eggs-in-incubator/20#post_14808417
 
I just candled most of the eggs, and giggled as I easily saw all the brown ones moving! So Awesome!! The green one is very hard to see into past the air sac so I am still not sure on it. Thinking of moving it to a temporary incubator since I don't want it further damaged?
 
YAY!!! I just checked on mama, I heard some peeps, so I peeked under mama and saw an egg mostly zipped, about a half hour later it was crawling all over under mom, definitely a strong chick. I removed the shell and it was moving all over. I will give her time to adjust and check for more zippers later tonight maybe when its her dinner time. One good advantage of her not leaving the nest ever is that I was feeding and watering her 2-3 times a day so she is plenty used to me messing with her.

I will get pictures when I can, but the brooder box is pretty dark on camera.

I already refreshed the food to chick only (no scratch) and refilled the water with some chick electrolytes /probiotics /vitamins. I need to lower the water off the bricks it is sitting on and put it on a piece of flat wood or something to keep straw out of it.

Ok 6 eggs to go! (The green one turned out to be bad so it is gone)

jumpy.gif
wee.gif
 
I just looked under mom again and saw a 2nd chick out and fluffed up. The first one looks like the cuckoo marans did but a little lighter grey and a little more white on the head, the 2nd chick has a grey body with a mostly white/yellow head, its mama must be a Delaware or buff Orpington. I figured they would all mostly look the same since the barred daddy gene is dominant but it seems I may get a small variety between them after all. YAY!!!!

I pulled yesterdays chick out next to the nest by the water and mom tried to show it how to drink, it watched very carefully but still needs practice. It was cute, almost like it didn't realize there was a world outside of the underbelly of mom, it almost didn't want to go back, then all of a sudden it dove under.

So cute!
 
Nice!!

They really won't need to eat or drink for a couple days....you don't want to draw mama off the nest before the other eggs hatch.
 

Similar threads

C
Ok for hen to be broody 30+ days?
Replies
1
Views
167
Crystal Chicken
C
Fluffaloo
    • Like
Broody Silkie Question
Replies
5
Views
809
Fluffaloo
Fluffaloo
A
    • Love
    • Wow
Can I moves eggs from the incubator to under a broody hen??
Replies
5
Views
2K
asmiles1
A
C
    • Like
Day 22 broody hen
Replies
4
Views
187
Crystal Chicken
C
Massachuchicks
Broody hen gave up
Replies
2
Views
198
Gamefowlmomma
G

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom