A hen went broody and she has been sitting for a while.......

[talkinboutchickens]

Hello!
My black australorp Phyllis went broody.
I thought one of my family members checked the eggs but turns out they didn't take all of them, so.......
Turns out 2-3 eggs have babies in them.
I can't just let the embryos die. That would be awful! So, I'm gonna clean out my incubator from my hatch that ended the day before yesterday, and set these eggs along with others.

My questions are:

Can I hatch different aged eggs at different times? Can I set these eggs today, and some the next day once I get more fresh ones, and some the next day???? (And so on.) I think it's called a staggered hatch???

I don't want to use bleach.
I found a "recipe" to use to clean your incubator on an old BYC thread:

• clean out the big chunks (egg shells, etc.)
• wash with dish soap and rinse
• wash with vinegar and rinse
• wash with hydrogen peroxide, rinse, and then dry

Is this a good alternative to bleach??

I want to use the traditional hatch method this time (wet) and see if this method works better for me. Last time I did a dry hatch and half of them hatched. How do you do a wet hatch? What's the humidity and temp???

Thanks so much!

 

[sourland]

Why not allow the hen to incubate the eggs?

 

[Love Donkeys]

I agree with Sourland let the hen care for her eggs. She'll take care of the chicks after they hatch too. She'll do all the work for you.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

X3

 

[SweetieChicken234]

Same.. I have to agree. If you can let the hen hatch the eggs. I just hatched 19 chicks a week ago and one of my hens went broody 3 days ago. I candled her eggs and all are developing. This time the hen can raise the chicks.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Same.. I have to agree. If you can let the hen hatch the eggs. I just hatched 19 chicks a week ago and one of my hens went broody 3 days ago. I candled her eggs and all are developing. This time the hen can raise the chicks.

X3

I agree with Sourland let the hen care for her eggs. She'll take care of the chicks after they hatch too. She'll do all the work for you.

Why not allow the hen to incubate the eggs?

I totally understand your guys' point.
The only problem is that all of her babies will take up a lot of room, room that we don't have much of.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Can I hatch different aged eggs at different times? Can I set these eggs today, and some the next day once I get more fresh ones, and some the next day???? (And so on.) I think it's called a staggered hatch???

You can do whatever you want but I would not do it like that. Some people are very successful with staggered hatches. They typically use one incubator for incubating and a separate incubator for hatching. Instead of starting eggs every day they save the eggs for a week or so. That way the eggs in the hatcher can hatch and they can sterilize the hatching incubator between hatches.

If you use the same incubator for both incubating and hatching it is best to start eggs at a week's separation but you run into issues with adjusting humidity and the chicks that hatch pooping on the later eggs or sliming them with hatching fluids which often leads to bacterial growth and failed hatches. They are often not successful and can be very stressful.

I don't want to use bleach.
I found a "recipe" to use to clean your incubator on an old BYC thread:

• clean out the big chunks (egg shells, etc.)
• wash with dish soap and rinse
• wash with vinegar and rinse
• wash with hydrogen peroxide, rinse, and then dry

Is this a good alternative to bleach??

I use bleach but do as you wish. I see this as a personal preference.

The only problem is that all of her babies will take up a lot of room, room that we don't have much of.

I assume you have a plan for the chicks. If you don't have enough room for a broody to hatch and raise them with the flock integration later could be very challenging. And you are talking about a staggered hatch to hatch a lot more chicks.

That is your business, not mine. Good luck!

 

[Love Donkeys]

You do not have room for a hen and her chicks, but you intend to hatch more than one brood of chicks. I'm sorry, I really don't understand. Good luck with your endeavors.

 

[labelo]

Was your plan to hatch in an incubator and then rehome the chicks?

You could still do that with the broody hen--let her hatch the eggs, then rehome some (at hatch or when they are bigger) or all (once they are bigger)--and avoid trying to figure out the incubator. Plus, then you don't have to break your broody hen, hatching chicks will break her for you.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Was your plan to hatch in an incubator and then rehome the chicks?

You could still do that with the broody hen--let her hatch the eggs, then rehome some (at hatch or when they are bigger) or all (once they are bigger)--and avoid trying to figure out the incubator. Plus, then you don't have to break your broody hen, hatching chicks will break her for you.

Yes rehome. The last time I hatched under a broody I waited until they were older until I rehomed.