When to Remove Unhatched Eggs from Under Broody

[shiro5]

My hen has been sat on her nest since 1st April.

The first hatched on the 22nd and the last hatched about 8am on the 23rd. She has five chicks, 2 of which have found their way to the food and water next to her and have dug in.

When do I removed the eggs that haven’t hatched yet? I do have another broody on day 14 so I could slip them under her if need be and take the chicks if they hatch.

My worry is her nest is quite high for the chicks and if they fall out I don’t think they could get back in. It’s the bottom tray of a budgie cage that she is in. I have put a few bits of cloth to try and make a ledge for them to use but I’m still worried.

Also she has pooped in the nest and doesn’t seem interested in getting up.

Could I take the ‘box’ out with mummy and nest in and then make a ground floor nest and transfer mum, eggs and chicks? Or transfer just mum and chicks if the eggs need to be removed?

Sorry first time Hatcher and there is so much conflicting information out there’!

 

[orrpeople]

Have you had the opportunity to candle the remaining eggs? Candling will give you the information you need to proceed. If the chicks in the eggs are still developing, then you will need to make a decision about how to continue their incubation. If they are not, you can remove them and let your broody proceed with raising the chicks. Before 72 hours (3 days) after then first chicks hatched, she needs to be off the nest, taking them to food and water. If there are still eggs, she may not do this (although most Broodies have an awareness about the eggs on which they sit, and will often abandon them if they are not viable).
Yes, you'll want to get Mamma and babies down to "ground level" so they can easily access food, water, and their nest. Moving them at night is best .

 

[shiro5]

End of Phoebe’s hatch a long

She did so well for her first ever hatch! And she had a very large clutch for such a little chicken!

Thank you for the five little fluffy lives that have hatched

So the end result is:

2 x light Sussex bantam hatched

3 x bovan brown cross light Sussex bantam hatch

1 x developed fully but died hatching
1 x developed but died on day 14ish

4 x not fertile