Update******May 9th (tentative) hatch date." 4 weeks later....a chick

[ReiMiraa]

Update or lack of

well today is 21 (3 weeks) from the day i started adding eggs under the brahma Pidgin and when i checked on her this morning i tilted her up to look at the eggs but none have hatched or pipped.....

if nothing happens by thursday i will consider both hatches a failure....

those 8 bantm eggs were moved under the boody coshin.... but i think they died. none of the eggs are giving off an obvious smell yet....

i will let you know if anything changes. or come thursday the lack of changes...

btw all eggs are fertile.

just the other day my bf and i watched the 2 milli flur roos double team a large hen.... it stood up and one summersulted over the hens head, while the other roo grabbed the hens feathers on the back of the head and hopped on.....

 

[ReiMiraa]

well as of thursday there were no chicks. i didnt have time to check on her yesterday.
should i let her keep them a week just in case??

i tried putting an egg to my ear and tapping on it to listen for anything. is this a proven method once candling doesnt work?

next question
if the 11 never hatch could i just put new eggs under?
doesn't a chicken know when an egg is alive and dead?
should i add new eggs or just kick her out of the broody nest?

i am sad that all the eggs are past day 21 and there is nothing. a few eggs are like day 27+ cause i was dumb and added them over a period of 4 days in the beginning.....

who knows maybe i will get a good surprise this morning....

but advice please!!!!!!

 

[ReiMiraa]

UPDATE!!!!
one of the impossible thought for dead bantm eggs hatched either yesterday or today.

i think it is a female. i tried sexing it like mike row did but it is a bantm and not sure if there are differences but i do not see a nub so i think its a female... will post pics tomorrow

i am naming it windy since it survived the impossible. 2 night of being wet and cold eggs.

so bantm eggs 1/8 hatched so far

pidgin the brahma's clutck 0/11 but now i have hope. maybe natural hatches take longer because of many factors.

this i posted yesterday*************************************************************************


Today~~~~~~~~~~~~

well i am back to no chicks hatched. i went and checked on it and the hen and it was gone. there was no sign of it even existing except for the fact there is one egg less so i wasn't imagining things.

i even picked the hen up and shook it to see if it was hiding under its feathers. nothing. if it had somehow gotten out of the pen the other chickens would of eaten it but there is no sign of chick feathers anywhere.

mom asked me if the momma hen could of ate it.

could a broody hen eat its own chick???

i was so sad i wanted to show john (my bf) it because it was the lucky one that hatched from eggs i considered dead.

i mean people freak out on the boards here if the temp in their brooder drops or spikes for hours. these 8 eggs were wet and cold for 2 days (the broody quit sitting). so i put them under the new broody coshin....

it was so cute and fit in the palm of my hand!!!!

what should i do if others hatch? remove them and put them in a brooder??

help i am very sad!!!!

 

[ReiMiraa]

i found the chick. 500 feet away from the pen. i guess it got out and either it died of expose or one of the chickens got it and carried it off. its body was intact but its head was a little crushed and the ants were on it. i told it sorry i didn't make the pen secure enough and tossed it in the dumpster.....

i tried to secure it better now and hope more of the impossible eggs hatch....

course now it would be even more impossible because we have a big thunder/wind and rain storm sneak up and there is only a tarp covering the hen sitting on the eggs in a cardboard box.... so yeah,.

when john goes to put the chickens away tonight i will have him check them and see if they are dry....

-sigh- now if there are any more chicks hatched from that pen they will be removed and placed in a brooder. no chances.

the other tractor seems more secure but no hatches yet..............

 

[ReiMiraa]

Another UPDATE!!!!!

So after a depressing weekend of having the impossible chick hatch, disappear and die.

It is now 4 weeks for the majority of the eggs under my brahma Pidgin, and today there is a chick. and ther is an egg with a pip, i picked it up and chipped a little away to see if it is alright. "cheep, cheep" i know its a no, no but i peeled the membrane off its eyelid so it can see the world for the first time. added a few drops of water to its beak and into the egg to keep the membrane moist (slight veining still) and placed it under the hen.

I will post pics of the 2 chick i have ever hatched. it has feathered feet and its coloration is cute. not chipmunk or solid. it might be a brahma pure.... but i have 2 brahma hens and the brahma roo and the 2 milli roo's.

also, taking the chicks that have hatched so far away from its mom tonight to be placed in a brooder. i realized that the fence in the chicken tractor is bis and i do not want a repeat of last weekend.

send good vib's this way. oh and i also have 2 new broodies. one silkie and aussie sharing the same doghouse. pics posting soon

 

[PoultryPeeps]

Thanks for sharing your amazing broody/hatching experience! I'm so happy for you that you got at least a couple chicks so far! Hang in there!