Power is out

[CandiceJ]

Hello I am pretty new to hatching and chick owning. So I'm struggling right now. Our power is out I have 4 eggs due to hatch today and 5 chicks a couple days old. Im freaking out and don't want to loose my babies. I have one hen that has went broody before in the past so the only thing I could think to do was get her. I brought her in the house and put her on the chicks and eggs. She is looking at me like I'm crazy but so far she is staying in the brooder box with them. Am I doing the right thing? I hope I'm not gonna loose these babies. I feel like i have lost my mind over these chicks. I have my truck running with the heat as back up just in case she's not doing the job. I'm hoping her momma instincts will kick in. I guess I'm just looking for some encouraging words or advice.....

 

[pasuit]

How long has your power been out. Good idea about the broody hen. Watch her close. You can wrap warm towels around the incubator. If y have the old fashioned thick red hot water bottle you can also fill it if you have a gas range to heat the water with and wrap it and put it inside the incubator. It will help. I had eggs in the incubator and had a power outage and it was off for 12 hours. I worried myself sick but did some research. Found out that the inside of the egg is much hotter than the incubator heat when it's.working. still had about 80 to 85 percent hatch rate. You'll be getting more suggestions. Keep us posted.

 

[Pyxis]

Do you have any hand warmers? I usually keep hand warmers on hand for things such as this. Activating several and wrapping them in a cloth gives the chicks something warm to snuggle with, and a couple in the incubator can help keep the temperature up.

 

[Pyxis]

I just noticed that you said the hen has been broody in the past, not that she is currently broody. If she is not currently broody, she is very unlikely to take care of the chicks or sit on the eggs. In fact, if the chicks annoy her enough, she may even attack or kill them.

The hot water bottle is a great idea if you don't have hand warmers.