Three broody hens

[Cistan]

Please direct me to right place if this has already been answered. My hens laid eggs back on the week of 10/18. The three hens whom are broody have sat on them until some have started hatching . The first set started hatching around day 23-30. ( im not certain i labeled them correctly on the day they were laid- i don’t know when to start counting) 5 didn’t make it and 5 did. The second round of eggs i labeled 11/4 - 4 are hatching from yesterday and today and will finish tomorrow. Is it normal for mom to just get up and leave eggs and not continue to be broody once they have gotten chicks? Also i started putting the heat lamp on the eggs bc of their prolonged absence now that they are mothers is it too much to expect for them to return and finish hatching the eggs ? Can i put more eggs under them or are they done ? Also, when i put mom back into her nest, she stepped on one and cracked it more , it was already piping this morning . Will it survive or did she kill it ?

They very much segregate by colors which is so mind blowing to me - the new hatched australorp are getting taken in by an australorp mom ..so I’m happy with that.
So many questions on a daily basis !

Thank you for any insight

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is it normal for mom to just get up and leave eggs and not continue to be broody once they have gotten chicks?

I'll give you what I have experienced.

Yes, it's normal.
Usually a broody will leave the nest with chicks within a day or two of hatch. She has chicks that need food/water and to get a move on with living. She's done with sitting.

Also i started putting the heat lamp on the eggs bc of their prolonged absence now that they are mothers is it too much to expect for them to return and finish hatching the eggs ?

Yes, it's too much to expect for them to return and sit. They have chicks to tend to.

Can i put more eggs under them or are they done ?

If they have left the nest, they are done.

Also, when i put mom back into her nest, she stepped on one and cracked it more , it was already piping this morning . Will it survive or did she kill it ?

Mom doesn't want back on the nest to sit, she's done.

Hard to know if the chick will survive. You may need to candle it. Do you have photos of the cracked egg?
How many more eggs are left and have you candled them?

Also, do all 3 broody hens have their own chicks and are they all together in the same coop/run?
This could cause some confusion and chaos, but it may be fine, you never know, but be prepared to separate broodies from one another along with their chicks, they'll also need their own food/water.

 

[Ridgerunner]

im not certain i labeled them correctly on the day they were laid- i don’t know when to start counting

You start counting when incubation starts, not when they were laid. An egg does not have a day's worth of development the instant incubation starts. It takes 24 hours before you say "1". An easy way to check your counting is that the day of the week you set the eggs is the day of the week the 21 days are up. If you start them on a Monday, the 21 days is up on a Monday.

The 21 days is not an absolute, it is a target. For several different reasons eggs can hatch a day or two early or late, even under a broody hen. But 21 days for chickens is pretty standard.

Is it normal for mom to just get up and leave eggs and not continue to be broody once they have gotten chicks?

She is still broody but she has switched from hatching eggs mode to raising chicks mode. She has to feed and water her living chicks instead of try to hatch the remaining eggs. This is why you want to start all the eggs at the same time so they all have a chance to hatch before the hen leaves the nest. When a hen goes broody and I want her to hatch, I collect all the eggs I want her to hatch, mark them with a black sharpie, and put them all under her at the same time. Then every day after the other hens have finished laying for the day I check under her and remove any that don't belong.

 

[Cistan]

You start counting when incubation starts, not when they were laid. An egg does not have a day's worth of development the instant incubation starts. It takes 24 hours before you say "1". An easy way to check your counting is that the day of the week you set the eggs is the day of the week the 21 days are up. If you start them on a Monday, the 21 days is up on a Monday.

The 21 days is not an absolute, it is a target. For several different reasons eggs can hatch a day or two early or late, even under a broody hen. But 21 days for chickens is pretty standard.


She is still broody but she has switched from hatching eggs mode to raising chicks mode. She has to feed and water her living chicks instead of try to hatch the remaining eggs. This is why you want to start all the eggs at the same time so they all have a chance to hatch before the hen leaves the nest. When a hen goes broody and I want her to hatch, I collect all the eggs I want her to hatch, mark them with a black sharpie, and put them all under her at the same time. Then every day after the other hens have finished laying for the day I check under her and remove any that don't belong.

Gotcha, it makes sense! Thank you. Do you have any suggestions for the eggs that remain ? put them in the incubator ?no one is broody anymore

 

[Ridgerunner]

It will not hurt anything to put them in the incubator.