Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[the1honeycomb]

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SIL will be back tomorrow afternoon....she will head out there first thing I am sure as she is really attached to that hen!

keep the faith! Late hatches do happen. Eggs are not on a timer! And yes I once had a hatch complete on day 25, and my Sumatra's are normally early... day 18 and day 19 generally. But once it was day 25 before it was all done....

Really don't give up I didn't see any movement and couldn't hear anything from my eggs but when I went out on day 22 there sat 2 beautiful chicks. keep the faith I know how down you can get from foot surgery been there done that. It will happen if it is ment to

 

[bburn]

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I think what your doing is the best thing. At least you'll know if anything is going on. And yes they do KNOW, alot more than us for sure. did you see the post someone had here about how mama and chicks communicate to each other while chicks are in the egg. I will be waiting to hear what you find out...

Now I believe that....about momma communicates witht he chicks in the egg.....I certainly do believe that. When my last hatch was in the process of hatching and towards the last of the eggs I was trying to figure out if they would hatch. I had bought a steathoscope and listened to the eggs. I could HEAR the chick moving in the egg.....could hear it tapping at the shell. After that on the slow ones that had not pipped I would tap on them with my fingernail and they would tap back. I think momma can HEAR them when they start tryng to pip.

Will check the eggs in the morning. Not giving up yet......

 

[Miss Lydia]

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I think what your doing is the best thing. At least you'll know if anything is going on. And yes they do KNOW, alot more than us for sure. did you see the post someone had here about how mama and chicks communicate to each other while chicks are in the egg. I will be waiting to hear what you find out...

Now I believe that....about momma communicates witht he chicks in the egg.....I certainly do believe that. When my last hatch was in the process of hatching and towards the last of the eggs I was trying to figure out if they would hatch. I had bought a steathoscope and listened to the eggs. I could HEAR the chick moving in the egg.....could hear it tapping at the shell. After that on the slow ones that had not pipped I would tap on them with my fingernail and they would tap back. I think momma can HEAR them when they start tryng to pip.

Will check the eggs in the morning. Not giving up yet......

 

[bburn]

Quote:
keep the faith! Late hatches do happen. Eggs are not on a timer! And yes I once had a hatch complete on day 25, and my Sumatra's are normally early... day 18 and day 19 generally. But once it was day 25 before it was all done....

Really don't give up I didn't see any movement and couldn't hear anything from my eggs but when I went out on day 22 there sat 2 beautiful chicks. keep the faith I know how down you can get from foot surgery been there done that. It will happen if it is ment to

This foot surgery is crazy. I can get to the kitchen but that is it and have to spend all my time in the bedroom. The screen is not on the window so I hang out the window when my SIL is in the chicken yard. But talk about stir crazy.....I really am. I do back to the doctor on Friday and she should start letting me put some weight on this foot....I hope. It was a joint replacement on my big toe. Who knew they did that? But it was locking up on me in mid stride and I work nuclear plant outages and I need my feet!!

 

[Layira]

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Thanks for the info! Ok, I was thinking of penning her and the babies up separate from the rest of the flock after they started to hatch...do you think that would encourage her to stay by the nest longer?

 

[mrsmaonaigh]

I have the oddest little colored chick. It looks like a bluish gray with brown chipmunk stripes. I can't figure out who that chick would have come from. Most of my chipmunk chicks are brown.

 

[Theeggboxtoo]

I got some pics of the 5 sitting in my hand. They are super cute chicks!

Maran x Easter egger

Maran x Easter egger

Buff Orpington x Easter egger

Rhode Island Red x Easter egger

Easter egger

More pics to come!

 

[Miss Lydia]

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That is adorable!!!

them pics.

 

[Miss Lydia]

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My chipmunk chicks are brown too. how about a picture? I think sometimes lineage pops up because my mixes will have some colors that I don't have so it has to be back in the family somewhere.

 

[Miss Lydia]

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Thanks for the info! Ok, I was thinking of penning her and the babies up separate from the rest of the flock after they started to hatch...do you think that would encourage her to stay by the nest longer?

That would be fine to move them to their own quaters, but I'd keep them where the rest of the flock can see them or they might have a problem intergrating back into the coop when old enough. I can't say for sure how long she'll stay on the nest after the chicks start to hatch, mine stayed for 3 days then she was ready to take them outside into the world. she had 3 eggs left and she finally pushed them out from under her, so I took them and cracked them open before disposing, they would have probably hatched but were too far behind the others and she was ready to give it up for the ones that had hatched. I will try my best to keep the eggs closer to laying time so as not to have them too spread out from now on. I hope this helps, someone else may have had a different experience and can add to it.