Oh no.....

[Jo Protherough]

I arrived up the field at 8:30 to discover that the new chick...Dash... had decided to go for a walk and his poor mum (Sensible Hen) had left the other eggs to look after him. Anxious Hen had then left HER eggs to sit on Sensible Hens eggs. Anxious Hens eggs were pretty cold when i got here and i am not sure what to do so i currently have them in my (voluminous) bra which os abput the warmest part of me. Is it worth putting them under the sitting chicken? How soon do they die if not kept warm?

 

[AltonaAcres]

Where is "Sensible Hen" now? Is she sitting again? Try putting her and dash back on the nest. How close are the cold eggs to hatching? If they are close to hatching they should be ok with a cold spell, but if they are pretty early on they may have not made it. Candle them in a couple of days. 30 Minutes is about how long eggs can go in the cold.

 

[Jo Protherough]

I arrived up the field at 8:30 to discover that the new chick...Dash... had decided to go for a walk and his poor mum (Sensible Hen) had left the other eggs to look after him. Anxious Hen had then left HER eggs to sit on Sensible Hens eggs. Anxious Hens eggs were pretty cold when i got here and i am not sure what to do so i currently have them in my (voluminous) bra which os abput the warmest part of me. Is it worth putting them under the sitting chicken? How soon do they die if not kept warm?

Oh rats it gets worse. One had hatched and been killed by anxious hen.

 

[Jo Protherough]

Anxious Hen is now bak on her own eggs in a separate hut. Sensible Hen is back on her own eggs with Dash. We have removed the dead chick. I notice one of the other eggs is starting to hatch. This is our first time doing this and i am so bloody stressed.