Hi, I am new to this forum and new to natural hatching by my hens.

[The Chicken mama]

I live in So.California and have been raising chickens in a rural city for the past two years.I started buying day old chicks from our local feed store. I currently have 17 hens an 3 roosters of various breeds and truly enjoy them and their different egg colors, learning from them through daily experiences. Each one is very unique and my greatest joy is to barely walk out side and they hear me and come running and flying across the pen to see what I have for them and then they follow me all around the yard and some even fly to my shoulder for a better view.
I currently have four broody hens at different stages of setting. Last night I thought I felt a cracked egg but found it to be pipping on the 19th day. Upon closer inspection I could hear more pipping and muffled cheeping sounds. This morning another egg has started to pip and both are cheeping. The mother hen is being more attentive and fixing the alfalfa nest all around her. How long does it normally take a chick to fully hatch? I was expecting to see a fuzzy chick this morning but only more pipping and hoping that all is well.
Please share your experiences with me so that I may have an idea of what to expect.-Thank-you

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Welcome! New babies hatching is so exciting but will worry you silly till it's done. I've had em go 24 hrs after pip but read up in the hatching threads and feel free to post questions and comments. You've found a wonderful group of people here that'll help you along and share in you joys and frustrations. Good luck and fingers crossed for a great hatch!

 

[Poultrybreeder]

Chicks usually hatch around day 21 of being covered by a broody hen. Once the chick starts cracking the shell, for me it is about 8-12 hours before it fully hatches. Yours just could be taking a little longer since it was only day 19 for one of your hens.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Welcome, what an exciting time!
At this point you really want to be pretty hands off....no more poking around under there to try to get a feel or perk. It can take 48 hours or more for the hatching to complete and that is if all eggs were started on the same day (you or other hens didn't add more eggs after the day the broody settled in to start incubation). After 48 hours or so the hen leaves the nest with any hatched chicks to start feeding them and taking them to water, this is when you can move in to see what's left, take any late hatchers to an incubator, etc.

 

[The Chicken mama]

Chicks usually hatch around day 21 of being covered by a broody hen. Once the chick starts cracking the shell, for me it is about 8-12 hours before it fully hatches. Yours just could be taking a little longer since it was only day 19 for one of your hens.

Thank-you for your info

 

[The Chicken mama]

Welcome, what an exciting time!
At this point you really want to be pretty hands off....no more poking around under there to try to get a feel or perk. It can take 48 hours or more for the hatching to complete and that is if all eggs were started on the same day (you or other hens didn't add more eggs after the day the broody settled in to start incubation). After 48 hours or so the hen leaves the nest with any hatched chicks to start feeding them and taking them to water, this is when you can move in to see what's left, take any late hatchers to an incubator, etc.

 

[The Chicken mama]

Thank you for the encouragement I moved her to a private box where none of the others could bother her or steal her eggs or make deposits, then I gave her 5 eggs, out of which she stepped on one and broke it getting back into her box. She is a rock Cochin and her feathered feet got in the way. Now I lift her out each night and place her back when she is ready, after having relieved herself, eaten, dust bathed, shook, screamed and fluttered (temporary moment of bizurk or hormonal insanity and all my other broodies do this also, startling the first time) then she clucks, walks to her nest, stands on her tippy toes looking up and then I lift her and she goes into her nest and retucks her eggs that I moved to the side for her to walk. She moves from side to side getting comfortable for the night. She has been an easy momma and of course one of my gentle favorites!

 

[drumstick diva]

Sending good hatching vibes your way

 

[theoldchick]

Howdy! I sure do hope the hatching goes well.

 

[The Chicken mama]

Hi all, I now have 2 baby chicks and 2 eggs left to go. Momma is teaching them how to eat and drink and then they copy her, even drinking from the cup. They sip and then hold their necks up to swallow down the water, just like the big girls, it is so sweet!