Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

I did that once except when I threw them in the trash I cracked the eggs then heard the chirping.   I was horrified!

X2. I am currently brooding a chick which was a garbage can egg. It was left in the nest when the broody took the other chicks out. I put it in my pocket to throw away and forgot it for a couple of hours then when I remembered it I decided to eggtopsy it before putting it in the garbage. I broke it open and it moved! I was about sick! I had only broken into the air cell so I opened the membrane from its beak and stuck it under a heat plate on a warm towel. Veins took 12 hours to recede and it was fully hatched in about 16 hours.

 

[bumpercarr]

X2. I am currently brooding a chick which was a garbage can egg. It was left in the nest when the broody took the other chicks out. I put it in my pocket to throw away and forgot it for a couple of hours then when I remembered it I decided to eggtopsy it before putting it in the garbage. I broke it open and it moved! I was about sick! I had only broken into the air cell so I opened the membrane from its beak and stuck it under a heat plate on a warm towel. Veins took 12 hours to recede and it was fully hatched in about 16 hours.

This was a few years ago and I didn't know what to do. The chicks (two of them) ended up not making it. Now I think I could handle it, but I also think I'm a little more careful about what I throw away. I always listen to the eggs and then put them in the bator if I think they might still be viable. I haven't had that experience again and don't want to. Nothing worse that looking at an open egg with a breathing chick inside of it and having no idea what to do and no time to do any research.

Last year I had 4 eggs under a broody and my nephews wanted to check the coop for eggs. I warned them not to take the eggs from under the hen that was in there. Don't know what happened, but they took her eggs. I called my sister in law immediately and said "don't crack those eggs open, the kids will freak out". Of course, she didn't listen, cracked one open for breakfast and screamed. She called me and said "I should have listened to you". Duh, yeah. They were at about 14 days, so pretty gross I'm sure, besides the fact that I lost eggs 14 days into a brood.

 

[ochochicas]

You should put the eggs under the hens now. The hens talk to the eggs when they are incubating them. The chicks will already know their momma's "voice" when they hatch. If you move them around later they get confused and don't know which hen to go to. I made the mistake of switching chicks around after two broodies had hatched them. The chicks did not know what to do and they all ended up with the more dominant hen. I had to put the other hen in a separate pen with her own chicks until they bonded.

 

[ShinShien]

Is that a 'pip' or is it when the chick's actually poked through the shell?

 

[fisherlady]

Is that a 'pip' or is it when the chick's actually poked through the shell?

I say they are 'pipping' when I see this, and say they are 'pipped' when they have a true hole in the shell and I can see their beak. I'm actually not sure when the term 'pip' is technically correct either.

 

[Faraday40]

Is that a 'pip' or is it when the chick's actually poked through the shell?

I like to call it a pip as soon as I can see it. It almost looks like the chick had to pip in 2 spots. Chick will likely rest before zipping. This is the hardest part - just waiting (& keeping the incubator shut). That's why a broody is great. She does it all. One day you have a hen & then "poof" chicks appear.

 

[Kaylish]

Ugh! So it's day 18 for me, and I have 6 eggs developing nicely, and another that might be ok but was questionable. Over the past 2 days, my 2 broody hens have taken turns sitting on the 7 eggs, which are all in one nest box at this point. I don't know why they are doing this, but it has been happening. Well, tonight I went for dinner at a friend's house, and when I got home to check on things, neither broody was sitting on the eggs. They were on the wrong nests. The coop was probably about 40 degrees, and the eggs were cooled all of the way down. I put them back under the broodies, and they are warming back up now, but what are the chances I am going to still be able to hatch them out now that they've lost all their warmth so late in the process?? I can't believe it... I just candled on Monday and things were looking so good...

I am pretty disheartened after last night. It's so close to the end, I can't believe this would happen now. The eggs were not frozen, but they were all the way chilled, like refrigerator cold, and I wouldn't be surprised one bit if it was hard on the chicks.

Anyway, I'm trying to now find the motivation to continue to tend the eggs as though they are alive... I had this whole weekend centered around the hatch, but hopefully either they all hatch or none do. It would be terrible to have just one egg hatch.

Anyway, if somehow the eggs did live, there are still 7 of them developing. I was trying to decide when the best time to move them under their respective mothers would be? Should I wait until hatch day to minimize the chances of a repeat wandering mom? Should I just go ahead and give them their eggs now and begin barricading them into their respective nest areas?

Also, if these eggs all died, I wouldn't be against trying again, but these poor girls have been sitting for about 5 weeks now. I imagine it's time to break them and just hatch in the incubator, as another 3 weeks of sitting seems like too long for the poor girls?? That's a shame, as I had hoped to have the ladies raise chicks themselves...

Thanks again for any and all advice.

There is hope! One of my broodies left her eggs overnight this winter (30 deg night) around day 10 and were ice cold when I found them. All 7 hatched! The embryos handle temperature changes better the farther along they are; so this close to hatch you still have a good chance of success. Like ochochicas said; put them in with there respective broodies and lock them in! Good Luck and keep us posted.

Is that a 'pip' or is it when the chick's actually poked through the shell?

Pipping has started! Now the hard part...keeping your hands off until it hatchs

 

[ShinShien]

She's the one actually doing the work. I have no idea what she is, except mixed-breed bantam. She's sitting on CCL eggs.

 

[Hayduke27]

Thanks for the advice Kaylish and ochochicas. I just went out and sorted the eggs, in the end I put 4 under the marans and 3 under the banty cochin. I re-marked the respective eggs so there will be no more confusion.

I had been given the advice before that I could use a screen material to block the hens in, and then let them out once a day at the time of my choosing. I didn't take the advice, but that seems like maybe a good course of action now. Since I am now in "lockdown", does that mean that the hens are going to go into a lockdown of their own? When they hear peeping and feel movement, will they stop leaving the nest and just sit and hatch the eggs? Will they still be taking their usual breaks?

I may consider trying a night time move to the chicken room and the hatching nests I built last weekend. Maybe if I do it at night they will settle down. Then again, now that I'm so close to the hatch date, maybe I'll just let them finish out where they are so as not to disrupt anything.

I have my fingers super duper crossed for a successful hatch! Friday night at 8:00PM will be the exact 21 day mark. I can't remember from my hatch last year, should they be making any noise yet?

 

[ochochicas]

I used to take my broody(s) off the nest at the same time every afternoon to get a drink, bite to eat, and take a bathroom break. It was a routine for them. They spent about 20 minutes running around (longer in the summer when it was 90 degrees out). and then ran right back to the nest. I did this up to day 19 since it seems like my chicks always hatch on day 20. In your case, I think it is probably too late to move them to a new area. Wait for the eggs to hatch and then move everyone.

One night an egg got pushed out of the nest. It was out all night and completely cold in the morning when I found it. The chick hatched just fine! I hope you have a great hatch, too!