Silkie hatched one egg and adopted 3 chicks!! Now what?!??

[Shoudimae]

Hi all! I’ve been posting quite a bit the past few days as I’m new to hatching eggs. A few days ago I asked about my broody silkie being able to hatch eggs and also adopt. I almost gave up on her 4 eggs hatching and was ready to put the 3 feed store chicks under her. Well last night I checked her and there was a tiny silkie chick that hatched! YAY!!! So I that night I also slipped the feed store chicks under her. She also adopted them successfully. Yay again!! But now here’s my dilemma! There are still 3 eggs under her that she’s still sitting on. Is there a chance they could take a few days longer to hatch than the one that hatched last night? I candled them a week ago and they all looked about the same when candled. When is it safe to say the eggs have died and will not hatch?
Thank you for any input!!

 

[sourland]

Has she been setting on all of the eggs for 21 days or have eggs been added during her broodiness? If eggs have been added and are not at the 21 day period, they may be viable; however, there is a strong possibility that she may leave the nest with her chicks.

 

[AOrchard]

I'd try to give the eggs at least another full day past when the first chick hatched. Did they all begin incubation at the same time?

If you decide you want her to give the eggs a few more days, try offering food and water for the chicks at the nest box. She might be willing to stay on the eggs longer if her hatched chicks aren't getting hungry and crying for food.

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

You can also candle the remaining eggs, if you see they are clear, or the air cell is small then it is probably not viable. If there's a dark shadow taking up space in the egg, and a large sloped air cell, then give them a few more days.

 

[Shoudimae]

Her and the chicks have both food and water right next to them. The eggs still under her *should* be hatching, they were not eggs added to her clutch later on!
that is good info about candling the remaining eggs! I will have to try that tonight and see. Thank you all for your input it has helped a lot!!

 

[Mick Boon]

Put the unhatched eggs in a glass of luke warm water, as the water cools any live eggs will start to noticeably move.

 

[Huntmaster]

Put the unhatched eggs in a glass of luke warm water, as the water cools any live eggs will start to noticeably move.

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