Help me hatch chicks!

[poultry person]

You might remember me posting a thread about weather to hatch chicks with a broody hen or an incubator. So we're using our hen Butterball and she is sitting on 19 eggs but only 10 our fertile. So I wanted to know if anyone has some tips on how to hatch eggs or what they do when they start hatching, also they are going to be mixes so help come up with names!

 

[chickenmama109]

the hen will do just about everything all you have to do is candle check for chicks and give them food and water good luck with your hatch my broody just hatched one egg the other two did not make it too lock down and the mothers name is trixie so i named the baby pixie fill free to use those names if you like them hope i helped

 

[Jbently28]

We just hatched our first chick 3 days ago with our first broody. The only advice I have is candle as little as possible and let nature do what it does best. A stress free hen is more likely to stay sitting. She will come off the nest once a day to eat, drink, and poop. She knows instinctually what to do. Just keep a close eye when it comes close to hatching time as some first time broodies will peck at or crush the eggs once they start pipping.

 

[ClucksAndCombs]

Personally, for hatches, I love naming them all with the name first letter. Here's the "D"s.

For some girls: Dixie, Daisy, Didi, Danielle, Deliah, Dori, Dakota, Darcy, Dolly
For some boys: Danny, Dash, Dexter, Devon, Dylan

 

[alexa009]

Hens are the ones who are in charge of hatching the chicks and its really not even necessary to candle them. The hen usually knows if the egg has a blood ring and eats it to prevent contaminating the other eggs. Do you have any clue what the mixes might me?

 

[chickenmama109]

sometimes when the chick stops growing in the egg or the egg is not fertile she will eat the egg she knows when the chick is died in the egg or not fertile on lock down there was a chick in the egg that i guess died on day 14 and it was day 18 and she had ate the egg just make sure thats why she eats an egg and not cuz she just wants too eat eggs good luck with your hatch what breeds are you hatching

 

[poultry person]

Thanks! BTW the father of the chicks just died with no explanation.

 

[poultry person]

Thanks! BTW the father of the chicks just died with no explanation.

Also one of the fertile eggs just got smushed

 

[chickenmama109]

Thanks! BTW the father of the chicks just died with no explanation.

im so sorry too hear that i hope your hatch goes well