Staggered hatch under broody... hold thumbs for us!

[Godiva]

I had a broody on 4 eggs, one of these I put under her almost a day after the others... I know, not a great idea but I just couldn't resist when I found a fresh egg from my beautiful cochin hen. Anyway, the first three have hatched as of yesterday (the first one hatched two days ago) and now momma Zoe is having to move to keep the chicks warm and the remaining egg got left behind. I have been running down to the workshop every few minutes to check because I was worried that this might happen. I had turned the incubator on this morning so that it would be ready in case of this happening. I found the egg buried in warm shavings and I don't think it had been long out from under Zoe. It has pipped and I have popped the egg into the bator. So now I am on tenterhooks wondering and waiting and hoping and worried and .... and.... please say a little prayer for my special chick... I want to pop it back under Zoe once it is all fluffed out - if it is ok, if it hatches etc. Anyway, I am going to run down and take another look

 

[Godiva]

First look at the three chicks, wobbly but fine looking, adorable muffs and beards!! Fuzzy feet!! Woo hoo! Driving Zoe crazy because they are insisting on exploring and not just staying under her. The egg in the bator doesn't seem to have made any progress, I hope it is ok!! How long should I wait before 'helping' it.... if I see no change in a few hours? I am concerned that it may have got chilled ... do you think it may be ok?

 

[Ducks-R-Us]

I had a broody silkie hatch out two ducklings and then sit an additional two weeks + to hatch out two chicken eggs. - she did it just fine but she wasn't taking care of the chicks once they hatched so I took those away from her but everybody is doing fine.

I hope yours hatches in the incubator!

 

[panner123]

You should have left the egg under the hen. She would have hacted it out just fine. At times different hens will lay in a broody hens nest days after the hatch started. The hen will set until all the eggs hatch. She may leave for a short period of time, but she knows when to come back. The egg should hatch in the bator as long as it was warmed up and ready to go.

 

[Godiva]

She had left the egg behind and it was buried in the shavings. You can actually see her progress around the pen I put up for her in the hollows she made in the shavings. She isn't back at where the egg was yet - a couple hours later and it is cold in there. The incubator was warmed up....

 

[Godiva]

Update, I kept the egg in the bator all day, when I checked late that night there was still no further zipping etc just one tiny little pip. Then I realised that there was some dried poop on the egg right where the little one needed to zip. I decided to quickly remove a little of the shell, little one was trying to zip but the poop was like a thick layer of concrete! When I cracked the shell off it was hard for my nails too. So I zipped about an inch and sliced the membrane really carefully. Then I put the little one back in the bator really not sure if it was going to make it. Next morning I rushed down to the workshop and to my delight the little one had hatched and was mostly dry. I have never been so thrilled... I put it under the broody and she took the whole deal in her stride. It has the fuzziest feet -I think this is going to be another cute as can be chick. They are all mixes. One is 3/4 mille fleur d'uccle and 1/4 silkie. Two others I think are mille fleur d'uccle Xsilkie roo over the same cross hens. And one is bantam cochin hen with the mille fleur d'uccle X silkie roo. All very sweet parents so I have high hopes for very sweet pets. And of course the possibilities on colour etc are endless - so much fun watching them develop...

 

[SPRING CREEK FARM]

Real glad to hear that the last little one made it after all! Your intervention made the difference for that one little chick.

I have about 35 Silkies right now and last summer I had a broody hen setting on 8 eggs; well, when she got up for a bit to eat, etc, she came back to continue setting and settled in on the wrong nest of eggs, also 8 in number.

(That was my fault, I had not removed the other eggs from the nest as other hens were laying and these 2 nests were close together.) Well, the hen had been setting on the orginal eggs for a week and I panicked and put ALL the eggs under this broody hen, not thinking that I had another hen wanting to set.

Not quite 2 weeks later when mama hen hatched out 8 babies and still setting, wondering, waiting??

I gathered the other 8 eggs up and put them where the other little broody hen was hanging out, and she immediately settled down on them. A week later the second hen hatched out 8 little fuzzy butts; all those eggs got hatched out after all!

 

[gaeamama]

Congrats!! Now we need pics!