Should I help chick hatch?

[Suesweet]

I had one under a broody mama that looked dry. (It was actually fine but I thought it looked dry!) So I wrapped it in a warm wet wrag, peeled off some eggshells to help it a bit, covered it in the rag again for a minute, then let mama hen do her thing. The chick is 3 weeks old now with mama and is doing amazing. Oh, and also I assisted about 12-18 hours after hatch.

Do you have any tips on getting hen to take the chick back? She wants nothing to do with it. It would be nice to not run a heat lamp for one chick but I definitely will. This hen sat for so long and I don’t know why she stopped.

 

[SilverBirds]

Do you have any tips on getting hen to take the chick back? She wants nothing to do with it. It would be nice to not run a heat lamp for one chick but I definitely will. This hen sat for so long and I don’t know why she stopped.

Some hens just aren't great mothers. What is her breed? How long was she sitting? If she is no longer broody there is no way she will accept the chick back. Do you have any more babies expected to hatch?

 

[Emmaloveschickens9156]

Do you have any tips on getting hen to take the chick back? She wants nothing to do with it. It would be nice to not run a heat lamp for one chick but I definitely will. This hen sat for so long and I don’t know why she stopped.

Um. I did the whole assist thing right there with the mama outside and she was trying to steal the egg back the whole time. Try sneaking it under her backside?

 

[Suesweet]

Some hens just aren't great mothers. What is her breed? How long was she sitting? If she is no longer broody there is no way she will accept the chick back. Do you have any more babies expected to hatch?

She’s a white leghorn. I think she stopped sitting on day 25. She had hatched one 2 days before that was perfectly formed but dead when I found it-I wondered if she stepped on it. I took the remaining 4 eggs plus pipped one and placed in incubator when I knew she wouldn’t sit again but candled them and I don’t think they look good. She’s definitely not broody anymore so we will just do brooder/heatlamp.

 

[SilverBirds]

She’s a white leghorn. I think she stopped sitting on day 25. She had hatched one 2 days before that was perfectly formed but dead when I found it-I wondered if she stepped on it. I took the remaining 4 eggs plus pipped one and placed in incubator when I knew she wouldn’t sit again but candled them and I don’t think they look good. She’s definitely not broody anymore so we will just do brooder/heatlamp.

Leghorns aren't known for going broody very often and they don't always make the best mothers. Hopefully some other chicks hatch so you aren't stuck with a lone chick.

 

[NatJ]

I had a broody hen who left her eggs.

Do you have any tips on getting hen to take the chick back? She wants nothing to do with it.

This hen sat for so long and I don’t know why she stopped.

Given what you have said, I would guess that she is just done, and will probably not be willing to take the chick back.

Some hens just are not good mothers, and this may be one of them. Or she may be a good mother in other circumstances, but not this time.

I can't say for sure what made the hen stop sitting at that time instead of any other time, but hens do not stay broody forever. For almost any hen, there comes some point when their hormones switch back and she is no longer broody, if the eggs have not already hatched. I say "almost any hen," because there apparently are a few hens that will sit until they die of something (like malnutrition, because they don't eat much while broody.) Overall, I prefer the ones that quit while they are still healthy, although it would be nice if they could know when it is hopeless (infertile eggs) and when they should stick it out for just a few more days.