Broody hen with staggered clutch

[TrueDat]

Hi everyone.
I am fairly new to raising chickens. One of my hens went broody and I decided to get some fertilized eggs so that we could expand our flock the old fashioned way.

When I bought the eggs the guy I bought them from told me the silkie eggs might hatch a couple days earlier than the other breeds because he took them out from one of his hens who was sitting on a few eggs. I candled once on day 7 just to see which eggs were developing so I could discard the unfertilized ones. Since then i have not really candled.

Well this evening I went out to get the eggs from our other hens and heard pipping from our broody girl’s box! One of the silkies has hatched a whole week earlier than I expected. We are only on day 15. I don’t have an incubator set up, and I afraid that our hen is going to ditch the rest of the eggs before they are done hatching.

If I did invest in an incubator to hatch the rest of the eggs when she decides to leave the nest, could I give them back to the momma after they hatch? Or will she reject new chicks after she switched from broody to mom mode?

Also, I was planning on moving her to a brooding box before they hatched but now I am afraid it is too late. I have heard it can hurt the eggs if they are moved when they are trying to position themselves to hatch.
The dividers between the nesting boxes are removable, so I took out one of the dividers to give her enough space so that I can fit food and water in with her. But If I leave her in the nesting box while she finishes hatching I would need to staple some chicken wire on the front so the chicks don’t fall out of the box. I’m not sure if this would be cruel for the hen tho. I feel like she needs some space to stretch her legs.


What do you think I should do?!

 

[Sussex19]

My hens tend to only keep sitting for 3 days max, after the first chick hatches, so it does sound a bit problematic. However, I have heard of other people's hens keep sitting for a fair while.
If you do get an incubator, and then sneak the the later hatching chicks under her at night I would say there is a fair chance of it working, although you would need to keep a close eye on them, as the younger chicks might find it hard to keep up with the others.
But it all comes down to the individual mother hen, really.
I would not try moving her now, as you don't want to disturb her well the eggs are hatching.
As long as you can let her out when she needs to, (and its usually quite obvious, as she'll start pacing up down) then I don't think it cruel, as she won't want to move much until she thinks the last egg has hatched.
I'll tag @Lady of McCamley as she is a lot more experienced then me.

 

[TrueDat]

My hens tend to only keep sitting for 3 days max, after the first chick hatches, so it does sound a bit problematic. However, I have heard of other people's hens keep sitting for a fair while.
If you do get an incubator, and then sneak the the later hatching chicks under her at night I would say there is a fair chance of it working, although you would need to keep a close eye on them, as the younger chicks might find it hard to keep up with the others.
But it all comes down to the individual mother hen, really.
I would not try moving her now, as you don't want to disturb her well the eggs are hatching.
As long as you can let her out when she needs to, (and its usually quite obvious, as she'll start pacing up down) then I don't think it cruel, as she won't want to move much until she thinks the last egg has hatched.
I'll tag @Lady of McCamley as she is a lot more experienced then me.

Thank you! I think I will leave her in the nesting boxes with food and water and pray for the best.

Non of the other chicks have started pipping yet, so I bought a cheap incubator from tractor supply just in case I need to finish the hatch in there. But I’m going to do my best to keep her on these eggs as long as I possibly can!

 

[Sussex19]

One thing to keep an eye out for, is poop in the nesting box.
Once you put food and water in there (which is absolutely necessary) she might need to poop, and not want to get off. There's usually quite an obvious smell, and then you just need to put new bedding in.
I hope she keeps sitting, and that they all hatch!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

You do have a tricky situation here, and sadly what appears to be a very staggered hatch.

Since you posted you are willing to let it take its course, be prepared for loss or abandonment. (If you can emotionally handle that, fine).

You have Silkie chicks with standard chicks, which in itself is trickier (as they grow at such different rates and sized).

You will have at least one chick almost a week older than newly hatched chicks. A definite challenge in integration as newly hatched need momma sitting on them for the first couple of days as they rest, while day 3 they need to be led to food and water. Momma can easily get confused whether to stay or go. Since you've placed food and water close, if you are lucky the older chicks will take themselves to it while momma still incubates or broods the babes.

There is strong likelihood the hen will abandon the unhatched eggs to take the hatched to food and water by day 3. It's the way nature made it work, as the newly hatched chicks have 2 days worth of food/nutrition from the absorbed egg yolk, so if her brooding instincts are on track, those remaining eggs will need to be incubated.

You may be able to integrate the chicks back with momma a week later....or not. Again, you have chicks with such differing ages and needs. The newly hatched babes are like infants needing lot of "holding" and setting while the older chicks are like toddlers who have to run and play. Momma can be very poor at trying to keep the 2 groups together. Generally I see the babes are the ones that get neglected, even kicked around as momma teaches the older kids how to scratch and forage.

You may have luck in incubating the remaining eggs and introducing them back at 1 week of age where they are steady on their feet and taking themselves to feed and water...only IF they aren't afraid of the hen, the hen accepts them, and they will snuggle during cold nights.

So you've got some hurdles. My recommendation is see how long you can reasonably extend that hen for the next 2 days and what all hatches. If she has some hatching on day 2, she'll likely stay with the clutch....just make sure the first have been lead to food and water.

Keep the incubator warmed and ready for when momma decides she's done incubating eggs. Candle to see what's viable and place in incubator. Decide if you can integrate at about day 5 to 7 if momma is congenial to the intruders.

Good luck. (And yes, this is a lesson why you should NEVER set staggered hatches).

LofMc

 

[NatJ]

If I did invest in an incubator to hatch the rest of the eggs when she decides to leave the nest, could I give them back to the momma after they hatch? Or will she reject new chicks after she switched from broody to mom mode?

It depends on the hen, but it might work. Some hens will refuse chicks that are a different color or different age than the ones they already have, while some other hens are happy to mother any chicks you offer, and some hens are picky about some details and not others.

I have sometimes added chicks a week or more after the first ones hatched. If there are a bunch of older chicks and just a few new ones, the little ones do badly. If there are just a few older chicks and a bunch of new ones, it has worked much better.

 

[TrueDat]

It depends on the hen, but it might work. Some hens will refuse chicks that are a different color or different age than the ones they already have, while some other hens are happy to mother any chicks you offer, and some hens are picky about some details and not others.

I have sometimes added chicks a week or more after the first ones hatched. If there are a bunch of older chicks and just a few new ones, the little ones do badly. If there are just a few older chicks and a bunch of new ones, it has worked much better.

Thank you so much for the great advice guys! @NatJ @Sussex19 @Lady of McCamley

Update: day 20 and the rest of the chicks are starting to hatch. Luckily our hen stayed broody even tho the first chick hatched 5 days ago! We never had to use the incubator. As of now we have a total of 4 chicks, and she is still sitting on 5 more eggs. We lost one egg because she squished it when she stood up to poop. After that happened I decided to very carefully move her to the brooding box (which is still attached to the coop so the rest of the flock can get accustomed to the chicks).

So far our girl has been such a great mama. She stays on the eggs until I physically take her off to poop and stretch her legs. She has been showing the early Hatcher how to scratch for food and it is just the cutest thing! When I put her back in the brooder she immediately goes back to sitting on the eggs. Im so proud of her lol.

It was a lot of stress waiting! I was convinced she would ditch the rest of the eggs. I probably won’t be buying fertilized eggs from this Hatchery again. I had no idea the eggs were going to be this staggered!

 

[Sussex19]

I'm so glad its working out!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Good for momma. Keep an eye out still, but it sounds like the hen is exemplary.

And yes, don't ever purchase eggs from that hatchery/breeder again. Sending started eggs is insane.

LofMc

 

[NatJ]

I probably won’t be buying fertilized eggs from this Hatchery again. I had no idea the eggs were going to be this staggered!

That makes sense. Or, if they are local and you otherwise trust them, you could consider getting eggs again in future while specifically discussing that you only want eggs that have not started development!