When can I check under my broody hen?

[RobandSue2]

He'll...first time having a broody hen hatch chicks....this morning we have at least 5 new chicks out of her 11 eggs hatch/been sightings.
We candled the eggs a few days ago and being a novice to candling not sure if they were all viable (it appeared 1 may not if I had to guess).
When can I lift her up to check where we stand-- ?? Granted this is day one....I know I am probably being impatient...lol

 

[RobandSue2]

** meant to say Hello....not He'll

 

[FarmerMac]

When i have broody hens, i candle the eggs at leat twice during the incubation cycle. This way i can pull out any egg that is not viable. Then when my hens start hatching their eggs, I wait till I hear or see the chick lookin out fromunder the hen. I lift the hen and remove the egg shells so they don't encase other eggs, I have found eggs that had a half shell covering the small end where the chick was peeping and the chick did not make it. That is why I remove the shells. After the second day I check the eggs that did not hatch to make sure they have a live chick. If they don't, I pull the out from under the hen and toss them out.

 

[RobandSue2]

Well went out and moved her as she had pooped in the box...and saw 7 chicks!! 4 to go...but didn't grab the half shells..,so going to try again...Thanks for the advice!!

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I had 11-12 broody hens this year and 6 or so were broody twice. I lifted them up everyday (or at least tried to) to pick the eggs other hens laid in their nests.
Otherwise it was complete anarchy...lol.

Some hens snuck some eggs in when I was super busy so I had staggered hatching with the last hens.
I candled the eggs every so often at night and started checking when I expected chicks so I could stick them in the brooder.

I had egg shells get in the way as well so I always extracted those when checking.

 

[RobandSue2]

I just went out and found another up to 8...video taped it and removed the shells...ACTUALLY one was over the small end of an egg!! She really started squawking ( apparently my eggshell removal skills are to slow for her)

All good and she is set for the night...we will see what the morning brings...
Thanks all!!

 

[Wickedchicken6]

That's fantastic!

I hope everything keeps going smoothly.
Please keep us updated as to how things are going.