Staggered hatch.

[annanimal]

I had a hen go broody 22 days ago, i had placed three old eggs (i had discovered a secret nest that day) in her nest to encourage broodiness (which worked). At the time it seemed like a pretty good idea because i don't use dummy eggs, I marked the eggs with a marker and a big D for dummy. She sat on them for three days until i got her broody pen ready and i moved her there with 9 eggs. She was a very determined broody so it wasn't hard to move her, i put the eggs under her, took the three dummy eggs and went inside to candle them. One of the dummy eggs was developing, the others were probably too old so instead of throwing the dummy egg i decided to place it under the broody and when the chick hatched i would take it away and put it under a different broody or i would look after it myself for three days until the other ones hatched (worst mistake ever

) I just couldn't bring myself to throw the developing little chick. 21 days later out comes a chick, so i remove it, bring it inside and put it in my ready brooder box. But when i went to check on my broody, she was out of her nest searching for her chick (the other eggs were on lockdown!!) so i pretended that i was going to take her eggs away but instead of rushing over to protect them she was at the door calling her little chick. I decided it was best for both the chick, the broody and the developing eggs to return the chick to the nest and she happily went and sat again. That was yesterday, the chicks are day 19 today, they should start to pip tomorrow but will the hen stay in the nest or will she go search for food for her one little chick? If she feels the eggs move and hears them chirp under her will she stay? What if she does get off her nest, i always have a broody without any eggs on hand in case of emergencies, should i remove the broody and her chick and put another broody on the eggs? I have hatched many chicks before but i have never had a staggered hatch... Thanks for any advice.

P.S. she is a first time broody, only a year old.

 

[Kelsie2290]

I would be getting those eggs to another good broody if had one. (or put them in the incubator). Mainly because the other eggs need to go on lockdown and there is a good chance she won't sit tight for the two-three-four days she needs to to get them through hatching and if she takes off in the middle the pipped/zipped chicks would be in trouble... and if she does stick there is a good chance her single chick will starve.

 

[annanimal]

Thanks for the reply, she sat tight all day yesterday and all day today, she will sit all through the night as well, if the chicks start pipping tomorrow wont she stay on the nest? I can just take the chick and feed it then return it to the nest...

 

[annanimal]

Has this happened to anyone else? Ps I don't have an incubator...

 

[Kelsie2290]

There are some threads on BYC on staggered hatches under broodies if you do a search, sometimes it works out well sometimes it doesn't. She may or may not stay on the nest, you just don't know and if you are not lucky you will lose the rest of the clutch... especially if that older chick is already trying to run around and if those eggs take two or three days to hatch that is a long time to ask her to stick with the older chick. What I would do if they were mine, I know you tried it, but I would take the older chick away from her and brood it alone until the other eggs hatch and then give it back to her... if you take it at night and do it quietly so the chick doesn't start screaming you should be able to get away with it. I've put eggs under broodies a day or so apart, but I don't like going over two days because of how staggered the hatches get then.

 

[annanimal]

I know, i read them all, none really helped. This morning she is still in her nest, no eggs have pipped yet and i didn't hear chirping in the egg when i lifted her up. I boiled some eggs and put one in her nest, both her and her chick ate it, i tried to give the chick some water but she freaked out. I will try taking it away tonight, that is if she is still in the nest, if she gets out i will just get the other broody and put her in the nest. In all my years of hatching chicks i haven't had a problem like this before...

 

[annanimal]

Isn't to heck on her and she was pecking her eggs, she killed two of them so I took her and her one chick out and put them somewhere else. I let the other broody brood the eggs but she didn't seem to interested, I didn't have sync other broodies so I just closed her in the nest, she eventually sat.