Recently we had a hen hatch 8 of 11 eggs and abandon the nest. One of the remaining eggs partially hatched before ants got it, one started to crack out of the shell but never made it and the last one never cracked at all.

Now I have another hen on day 17 of a sitting. She started with 11 eggs but another hen cozys up and drops additional eggs in the nest so the nest is now up to 16 eggs. Obviously not all of the eggs will hatch at the same time. Would we do better taking the first chicks that hatched from the hen in hopes that she would continue sitting or take the eggs once she clears out with the babies and artifically hatch these?

I would suggest removing the unhatched eggs and trying to hatch them yourselves. It sounds like other hens have been getting into the nest and laying eggs.

Next time, try marking the original eggs with a pencil when your hen starts to set. Check the clutch daily and remove any added eggs. That will ensure that the original eggs don't get crowded out. Have fun.

In the future, try to give the setting hen her own small coop and run. If other chickens are allowed to lay in her nest, eventually they'll be too many eggs for her to cover. Then, because she will rotate the eggs, sooner or later all of them will get chilled, and none of them will hatch.
There's no right or wrong answer to whether the early hatched chicks should be removed, or whether the later eggs should be taken and artificially incubated. However, if the hatch is only a few days apart, if the early chicks are taken away, they can usually be slipped back under the hen at night, and she will accept them. This only works if there's only a few days difference, at most, between the early and late hatches.
Also, a bood hen can mother about three times more chicks than she can sit on eggs, so if you ever have a hen that is not into being a mother hatch her clutch at the same time as a hen with good mothering instincts, the good mother can usually be induced to taking on the others. Again, the trick is to slip the chicks under her at night. Be sure to keep an eye on her, though, because if the chicks are too old, she may attack them. Good luck.

I agree with both responses above. Having had this problem myself, I let the mother hatch all that she will and when she comes off the nest, I place the remaining eggs in my incubator to finish the job. It seems to work best that way, especially in the summer time when she won't cover the chicks as long because its too hot.

Help..when are eggs removed or kept with "mom."

I have just started, I got 5 hens and a rooster. On the second day [home] I found one egg with no attending
"sitter." I assumed this egg was not to be hatched and then decided to take it out of the nest for the refridgerator.

My question is, how do I know if an egg is sanctioned
for sitting and hatching?


GooRoo

Do you want to hatch eggs? Do you live where it is warm, or are you prepared to take care of baby chicks in winter? What breed of poultry do you have? Some breeds do not set and hatch (require incubator). Hens lay eggs every day or two, skipping days now and then. They do not stay on the nest after the egg is layed, so gather your eggs every day, refrigerate. Eat them! Nothing like nice fresh eggs. When a hen does get "broody", she stays on the nest whether she has eggs or not. It is all controlled by Mother Nature, a cycle of the hen. Each hen is an individual and has her own rhythm. Some hens lay 15-20 eggs and then become "broody" and set. Others lay 30-40 eggs before setting. And many breeds lay 100-200 eggs a year and never set. And some hens that do not set, will lay a "clutch" of many eggs, then rest a while with no eggs produced and moult their feathers, grow new ones, then resume laying. Lots of variations. All very interesting to observe and care for! Good luck, CJR

Thank you CJR,

I don't know [yet] what kind of breed they are, I didn't think to ask. :-/ Yet, if its any hint, there
are 4 that are white in color [regular barn yard?] the other hen is soft brown in color, they came with the same [litter?] :) The rooster looks like a RI Red.

I would like the hens to hatch the eggs, I live in
Florida, the winters here can be a blurry subject.
We are having our first 60 degree night[s]. But,
seems to be just the introduction of fall. Time
will tell. We had a very hot summer, and expect
a rather above seasonally warm winter. March should
put us back into the 80's. If as they say October
is what March will be.

What temps are bad for the chickens/roosters? I understand that the chicks must be kept warm, and
have read 99 degrees? I'm still reading up on
things in between making the cages and other
research items...blah, blah, blah...heh!

If I do decide to get an incubator, they sell for
about $98.00 [+ tax]. I don't know if that is
good or not.

Thanks again for your information!
-Art-

GooRoo
A hen will not start sitting on a clutch of eggs until she thinks there is enough to sit on so don't take the first egg out just because a hen is not sitting on it. It is true that some hens won't become broody but the only way to find out is to let the hen lay a bunch of eggs (up to 15) in one spot and wait to see if she will sit on them. It is a good idea to mark these first 15 eggs and then if she continues to lay after the 15th egg take the fresh eggs out and use them for breakfast. If the hen does not sit on these eggs in about five days after the 15th egg is layed it is most likely you will not have broody hens or they are not old enough or ready to become broody and you can repeat the steps above at a later date. This is the best way to do it. If you have anymore questions, just e-mail me.

Help Please---We have 4 hens and a rooster. The hens lay everyday. Do we gather the eggs daily or leave them for a day or two and see if they are trying to "set" on them? Do we need to keep eggs and how(refrigerator? or ?) to put under her, or will she keep laying and stay on the nest? (Should have paid attention when my mother was raising chickens!)

Goo Roo and Debbie, Scroll back up from your question and find an answer to "Setting Hens" back in October?? I have had a lovely hen setting on an empty nest for a week, just as happy as if she had a clutch. I have all the chicks I can handle for a while (and all the eggs I need from other hens)--her hormones will adjust pretty soon and she'll go back to laying--I won't "break up" her set, she'll do it on her own in time and won't suffer the trauma of being locked out for a while! CJR

I teach first grade and we are hatching chicks in an incubator. I turn the eggs 3 times a day.

My question is: Do hens turn the eggs they sit on?

Thanks,

jhorton

JHorton, Hens rearrange their eggs whenever they change position. They haven't a clue whether they are "turned" or not, but the important thing is that the embryo is moved, so that it does not lay on one side of the egg constantly to reduce circulation of the blood to the embyro on the"bottom" side. Otherwise the weight of the developing embryo would hold it to the "bottom" side, more so, as it grew in size. This could disturb the symmetry of the growing chick,and at hatch time cause the chick to be stuck to one side of the egg and be unable to turn in the shell to chip its way around the top to escape its shell! Automatic turners in incubators may turn eggs as often as once each hour. Several times a day appears to be adequate to reduce or prevent hatching problems. CJR

Hey, I got a question. I have a silkie sitting on an egg that is abnormally large. It is developing, but will this complicate hatching?

i have been marking the eggs with regular lead pencil but find that the marks become very faint after so many turnings. made a disastrous mistake once and took what i taught was a fresh egg from the clutch...you can guess what happened. would it hurt if i used permanent marker to mark the eggs?

We are recreational chicken owners and have a mixed breed population, some old, some new. 11 hens, one rooster. We want to raise some bantam chicks and have isolated six small eggs for our Silky brooder. She is diligent and unswerving in her brooding responsibilities. In fact she is being helped by another Silky hen who sits at her side constantly.
Based on a 21 day hatching cycle, the chicks are due 4/20/00.

Our question, should we separate the chicks and hen after hatching to a separate pen or will the Silky(s) protect the chicks from the general population?

Fysammy, Few hens, however they try, can protect their chicks. Silkies, especially cannot do much, if they have a great topknot, they cannot see approaching trouble that well. By all means, prepare another place for her to hatch and brood her chicks. The second hen may also be cause for problem after hatch, as they will both try to claim the chicks and the chicks may be in the middle of the scuffles. The chicks may be integrated after they are well feathered and weaned, but even then, will require plenty of room to be safe from attack by larger and older birds. Take care, CJR

CJR
RE:FYSAMMY 4/13/00
Thanks for your quick reponse...
What does it mean when the hens seemed to have lost interest in brooding. There is a different hen on the eggs daily, and often times they are unattended. The Silkies are no longer vigilant.
Have I lost the chicks?
Sam

Fysammy, Are the eggs allowed to get cold? If not, perhaps you are just seeing the hens off the nest to eat, drink and poop. It is unlikely they stopped setting, if they had been staying on the nest night and day. Even if they should have mites, which can weaken them and could cause a less "vigilant" hen to stop setting, Silkies would rarely interrupt their set, even if it cost their life. Did y ou move your hens to a place away from your other birds? Are any other birds laying eggs in their nest? These could be reasons, but again, Silkies are such good setters, that rarely are they interrupted. Have you counted the days until hatch day? Guess, I'd just say to wait and see. And good luck. CJR

Hello! I too, am fairly new to raising chickens. My question is this-I have a Buff Orphington hen that I believe is "setting". The problem, I think, is that she is in the chicken house with 29 other chickens, can I move her? If so, when is the best time to do this? Should she be up off the ground in a laying nest or is a nest on the ground okay? We have another small chicken coop that will be great for this. Also, another question I have concerns guineas-I have a hen who is sitting on about 15 eggs, but it seems like she spends most of the day off the nest, but spends every night on the nest while the other guineas continue to go back into the house. Is this normal? Do I need to do anything? The chickens have a huge yard area and the guineas just fly over the fence after they are let out of the house in the morning. Any information would be very much appreciated!! THANKS!!!!

Apachesa, By all means move your setting hen. Other hens may already be laying in her nest, a real problem, as chicks will not hatch at the same time--and then the hen cannot stay on the nest until they all hatch! Fix your place for her--on the floor is okay-and move her at night. Might even cover her box for part of the next day, then she will get off the nest to eat, drink and make huge stinky poops. Don't know much about guineas, but they are pretty self sufficient. CJR

Prepare her new home before you move her Ideally she needs a box about 18" square, a lot of older books recommend covering the bottom of the box with sifted, clean,damp garden soil or a square of turf placed upside down. Make a dish shaped depression in the centre and then line the box with soft hay.
The box needs to be kept somewhere shady and quiet where it won't be disturbed by anything (cats, children, dogs etc) and it needs to be in a building where vermin (rats, weasels etc) can't get in.
Wait till it's nearly dark and quietly remove the eggs and place them in the nest you've made, then gently and quietly lift and carry the broody hen and place her on her new nest.
For the next 3 weeks she needs to be left quiet to do her job! She only needs to leave the nest once a day and a good broody may be reluctant to do that... so each evening (if her bowl of food and water are untouched and there is no evidence of her having left the nest ie. a bit splot of poop!) lift her gently off the nest and put her by her food (a bowl of scratch corn and a clean bowl of water) if she just subsides in a broody heap on the ground...just pick her up and drop her gently to her feet. She should eat, drink and poop when she's done this shepherd her back to her nest. She should arrange her eggs then settle down again. (10 to 20 mins is the max time she should be off he eggs unless it's very hot)then you leave her be untill the next evening check!
Main things to remember are keep her calm and as undisturbed as possible. If she's agitated there may be vermin near? or she may be troubled by insects.. it's best if she's dusted or sprayed for mites etc before she sits. If she throws an egg out of the nest mark it and return it if it keeps getting thrown out go with her judgement and discard it. After day 20 leave her be...don't disturb her at all.. Good Luck!

Thank You very much for sharing your information with me. I will do as you both said. I hope everything goes well, as the kids and I are really excited at the possibility of our first "homegrown" baby chicks! We ordered the Buff Orphingtons (after much reading) because they are suppose to be one of the few that still has "mothering" instincts. We have had the best time with them. People think I'm kinda nuts because I get such enjoyment from them-oh well-we will continue on. Thank You, again!!!!

Can someone help me? I have a nice chicken coop, and I raised three laying chickens last year that layed all winter and continue to lay about one egg a day. Now I'd like to get some baby chicks again (supplied by the feed store since I have no rooster) and I'm wondering how old they need to be to be able to place them in the coop with the laying hens. Will the hens peck at the chicks when they are not their own chicks?

Hi everyone...please have mercy on me, for I know very little, and have many inane questions:

We have 3 Ostrelopes (black chickens), about 1.5 years old. We had thought only one was a hen, as she was the only one obviously laying. She has begun to brood (see below), and has been kept separate, and now we have seen a new pile of eggs (where the other birds are besides her) recently- and today I saw another of the chickens starting to brood on *that* pile. Mom #1 has been sitting for quite some time- probably around a month, or more even.) We also have three peacocks, about the same age as the chickens. We are complete poultry raising novices, raising the birds as pets and companions mostly.

There's the background info. The questions are piling up, and you all seem very smart from what I've read, so I'm hoping you can help us out.

-Hen/Mom #1 is sitting on some very stinky eggs. At least two of the ones I have removed have been dark green putrefied inside. We have done our best to let her alone on the eggs, but she had interference early on for the first few days (from the other birds), and she also had a really big pile for a while (before we fully caught on). We thought the pile was all hers, but it sounds like that might not be the case- especially now that another is laying eggs outside. I don't know if her eggs ever had a chance. Also, I found the shell from what was apparently a cannabilized egg, during that first few days.

How long is too long? Should I just get rid of all the eggs? Tthere are about 9, after I removed 7 yesterday by sniff test. I feel bad robbing her of her potential chicks, but also bad if they are just dead vessels rotting in the hot CA sun. They mostly look the same as any other eggs, and the same as each other. I've been wont to disturb her, and have largely been letting her control things. Is it time to step in and end this? Should I candle the remaining eggs? How do I do that?

-Now we have a new bunch of eggs, and apparently another hen. She does not sit much, but I did notice her trying and brooding yesterday. Making another separate area for her to sit alone is not really realistic- can we keep both hens in the same place? There is enough elbow room for the two of them- will they let each other sit? If we do this with Hen #2, should we remove all the current eggs, and let her start anew once safely in the pen with Hen #1?

-If both hens continue with sitting in isolation, that leaves our rooster out in the outer area with 3 (much bigger) peacocks, who I suspect will pick on him pretty fiercely if they get him alone. Any suggestions? As I said, we've run out of compartmentalizing options. There's the inside pen and the outside one. If the two hens cohabitate and brood and sit in harmony, is there a chance the rooster will stay inside with them and behave himself?

-And about peacocks- when, and under what circumstances do they lay eggs, etc.? And, can peacocks mate with chickens? Because our big male peacock sure is trying!

Sorry to be so clueless...the birds were so simple to raise, until the egg production took off... :) Now I'm just trying to keep them all happy.

Prez,
This will be long, so get comfy!

Most definitely remove bad eggs. As they rot within their shell, pressure increases and if pressure gets too high inside the shell - they can explode/pop and splatter the rotten stuff all over (We had this happen...Yuck.)

I would not disturb the hen, just check the eggs now and then to check for rotten ones (at night, when she is the most relaxed - and asleep).

If you really wanted to candle an egg, there is a great site that includes candling (and other things of interest) at this website: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/eggs/res26-candling.html
Candle the eggs no earlier than after 5-7 days of incubation/brooding. As for doing the candling - it needs to be done in a place as dark as possible. A very simple way to candle an egg is to use a flashlight (Although the candlers you can make on that website will work much better, but this will work in a pinch). Hold the flashlight (use one that has a lens no larger than 1 1/2") so the light is directed straight upward. Hold the egg by the sides - not the ends - above the light with the big end down. Carefully turn the egg so you can view the whole egg. At this stage, you should be able to see some blood vessels and possibly a small dark spot about the size of a pea (that's the chick embryo). Excellent pictures of this (even though they are not chicken eggs...) are on this site:
http://www.tcaviary.com/eggs.htm
Hope that helps with your candling...if you choose to do it.

Hens really do not usually set well right next to each other, even with elbow room. Try to give them their own private setting area. We have used several things to do this when we got into a pinch: Small dog carrier - leave the door open, except at night (to protect her and her eggs from most predators; a 30-40 gallon plastic storage box with a lid (cut a hole in the end as a door); even an old fashioned milk crate for each chicken is better than nothing. Of course, you should put bedding down inside any of these things, to keep the chicken and her eggs nice and cozy warm. Absolutely do not keep the rooster with the hens, he will most likely disturb them and they will stop setting.

I know nothing about the personality/attitude of peafowl, so I am sorry I can't say anything about the possibility of your rooster getting attacked. But, I do know that peahens only lay something like 15-20 eggs per season. That's why they are so expensive...few eggs to incubate and even fewer hatch. From what I understand, peacocks will try to mate with nearly any female fowl. He will not necessarily be able fertilize the eggs due to genetics differences though - but some oddities have been heard of.

I think that covers about all I know...hope it helps!
Jean Oppel

Jean-

Thanks a lot for your advice...things have moved along since a bit, and I already tried out some of the stuff I was talking about.

Most of my suspicions, and your advice, turned out to be correct. Last night, before reading your message, I tried to get Mom #2 to sit on eggs right near the first Mom. This morning, the newer Mom was up and restless, with no eggs in her nest. I'm guessing she ditched them, and the original mom took them into her nest. Haven't had a chance to check yet.

The peafowl are definitely hasling the rooster...I'm just going to try and let him out early, and put him in late. They are much less mean at night. :0

The only questions I have left are:

- How long should the sitting take in total? It's been well over a month.

-When the hen starts sitting, it seems like she's sitting on eggs that have been there for a couple days (without her sitting). Are those eggs not going to hatch, because they spent too long unattended?

Thanks much for your help. I am trying to tame a fowl situation that is getting more and more fowl. :)

-Lance

Lance,

Chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch, guineas and turkeys are 28 days. Are you POSITIVE it's been over a month? If so, I'd candle the eggs (very carefully - don't want any exploding putrid eggs) to see if there is any development visible. If the WHOLE egg is completely dark inside, it either means that it is rotten or very close to hatching (within a couple of days). If longer than that - get rid of them - they are most likely rotten.
Freshly laid eggs can sit in the nest without a hen setting on them for a week. Any longer and they lose their hatchability. If a broody hen has been setting, gets up for a few days, then sets again for awhile, most likely the eggs will lose hatchability. A hen needs to stay on the nest all the time - except when she is eating. She will get up for awhile to eat, but she should go back to setting immediately. If your hen is not setting consistently, she could be telling you something about the eggs she setting on (that they are bad and she doesn't want to set on them). Hens may even kick eggs out of the nest - this is usually an instinctual thing they do to get rid of bad/infertile eggs.

That's all I can think to tell you right now, but if I think of other stuff, I'll let you know.

Jean Oppel

Lance,

Chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch, guineas and turkeys are 28 days. Are you POSITIVE it's been over a month? If so, I'd candle the eggs (very carefully - don't want any exploding putrid eggs) to see if there is any development visible. If the WHOLE egg is completely dark inside, it either means that it is rotten or very close to hatching (within a couple of days). If longer than that - get rid of them - they are most likely rotten.
Freshly laid eggs can sit in the nest without a hen setting on them for a week. Any longer and they lose their hatchability. If a broody hen has been setting, gets up for a few days, then sets again for awhile, most likely the eggs will lose hatchability. A hen needs to stay on the nest all the time - except when she is eating. She will get up for awhile to eat, but she should go back to setting immediately. If your hen is not setting consistently, she could be telling you something about the eggs she setting on (that they are bad and she doesn't want to set on them). Hens may even kick eggs out of the nest - this is usually an instinctual thing they do to get rid of bad/infertile eggs.

That's all I can think to tell you right now, but if I think of other stuff, I'll let you know.

Jean Oppel

Hello!
I am also new at hatching chicks - we have Pekin bantams and one has just started to get broody. Our nesting boxes are located off the ground (we have four boxes for 7 hens) and today I discovered one of our hens sitting steadily on a nest, only leaving briefly during the middle of the day.
What I would really like help with is.....
*Do I need to shift her to another nest at ground level?
*Will a cardboard box with straw do?
*Can I keep her box on the floor of our henhouse or do I need to move her to another area away from the others? (the hen house has a concrete floor with about 4 inches of litter - also they free range out of the house most days)
*Also is it okay for the broody hen to raise the chicks in a box and when can I let them go outside and/or mix with the rest of the flock?

Sorry for all the beginner questions!! Thanks so much in advance for your help.

HI,
I HAVE 5 CHICKENS 2 ROOSTERS 3 HENS,THEY ARE MIX RHODE ISLAND REDS AND WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCKS,I NEED SOME INFO ON HENS HATCHING EGGS BY THEMSELFS

Lesly, Go to the Left side of this Discussion board, click on Key Word, and then ask for Hen-Hatching. You will get LOTS of information to read about hatching by hens. It takes a lot of space to write enough to be really useful. (I had 6 chicks hatch last night under a little bantam hen!, so pretty and fluffy!)Are your hens laying now? CJR

I just started raising chickens last summer. I now
have 16 hens and 2 roosters. A couple of my hens lay
every day or so, we live in Virginia and I wondered if
it's too early to let them sit. I don't have a brooder
yet - but it doesn't really warm up until late March
early April. Also, if I keep mother and babies from
other hens can the chicks stay in the coop with her?

I have read enough to know what I want to happen and how to achieve my goal +/-50% until I get my feet dirty.
I have but one main question that requires a little explaination.
Due to circumstances beyond my control I have to work with a very calm and easy to get along with, large type chicken. In order for me to accomplish my goals for my grandchildren they must be of a type that would make the poutry judges look twice and I've chosen large as I've found it is a good eye catcher and larger breeds are more docile (according to rumor).
Within these parimeters I've been looking at Black Jersy Giants and Light Brahmas due to thier semi rarity, as this is also a requirment.
Does anyone know of any other type of chicken that would be larger, docile and more rare?
I've contacted 4 different hatcheries and according to them these are the types I should go with but I have worked with horse traders before and never trust all the answers to the guy selling the horse.

I have a small flock of Buff Orpingtons and Black Astralorps that I have been collecting eggs from. I now have a broody hen that is sitting on about 12 or so eggs. I was reading in the articles at the top and a couple of them talked about moving a broody hen. How would you do that with her and the eggs? This is my first brooding hen so any help will be greeatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I moved my hen and her eggs into a dog crate because we had a problem with coons. What I did was to take a cardboard box and put some straw in it to make a warm bedding for momma hen. It was a little chilly in the dog crate because I had to keep her completely safe and the only way to do that was keep her near the house. I then put gloves on and a long thick jacket so that when she pecked and they will do anything to protect the nest, my arms were safe. All this was done at night which is best. Then I moved the momma chicken into the crate before moving any eggs. After that I took the eggs and put them into the cardboard box(which I had taped one of the shorter flaps over to make a cover so that she felt safely enclosed in)after moving the eggs into the box I then put the hen in the box and put the box in the dog crate. I gave her a bowl of food and water before I started the process which helped to make sure she at least ate and drank before going back on the nest. When I put her in the box she settled down right away. She did try to peck my hands but with the gloves and heavy jacket I was safe and did not have any fears of getting hurt.