Would a broody abandon her nest at first pip?

[MistRidge]

Hi all! First time letting a broody hen do her thing and I'm not sure what to do. We're on day 20, and are down to 8 eggs from the dozen she started with (I probably shouldn't have let her sit on so many to start). Over the past three weeks I've found broken shells a few times, and I assume she "dispatched" of the 4 eggs because maybe she could tell they were not viable (?). I tried candling around day 10 and could see veins in some, but my little flashlight was too weak to see much of anything in the slightly darker eggs. I can tell by the smell that there's currently at least one remaining egg that's gone bad .

Overall she's been a pretty good sitter, usually only leaving once every day or 2 for less than an hour to eat/drink/bathe/poop. She's got her own separate space that the rest of the flock can't access, and I let her out for her daily run around when she asks. Occasionally when she's ready to go back I find her sitting in a nesting box and I have to show her where her actual nest is. She's always cranky with me when I move her back, but then happily sits on her eggs and carefully rearranges them under her and snuggles down.

Today I went to the coop and she was asking to be let out of her space (pacing back and forth in front of the door, which is normal when she wants a break). She whooshed out as soon as I opened the door. I can see one of the eggs has started to pip. There's regular movement under the membrane, like breathing. The other 7 eggs all feel room temperature, so I have to assume she stopped sitting on them some time over the past few hours?

She did eventually return to the [wrong] nest, so once again I moved her back to her separate space and she got back on her eggs by herself. I'm pretty sure she walked on top of the pipping egg because I heard two loud/distressed peeps. Last I checked she was snuggled back on top of them in her normal position.

So, question: Do broody hens ever get all the way to the point of hatch, and call it quits right when movement/pipping starts?? I would have thought she'd want to stick around if a chick is hatching. Maybe she can tell something's wrong with it? I was only expecting them to start pipping tomorrow and I'm worried she's going to let them all go cold and die (if they're not dead already) before then if she's suddenly decided motherhood is not for her.

I've attached a pic of the pipped egg. I didn't want to move it, but it looks like the chick tried to pip on one side and maybe is partially coming out the other side (facing the ground?). I know in general you shouldn't help them hatch, but I don't know if there's anything I can do to increase its chances of survival at this point. If mom leaves the nest again should I try to put the eggs under heat, or just trust her judgment and write them off? I don't have an incubator so my only option would be popping a brooder plate in there and maybe a wet paper towel or something to help with humidity.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[igorsMistress]

It really depends. Her survival is paramount, and with eggs pipping it could be a day or two before she can leave again to eat or drink. Have food and water in her area, and a pile of straw for a soft landing if the nest box is off the ground. Once the babies hatch she will make a nest on the ground for them if the box is raised.

 

[SueT]

How old is the hen? The only way to know if a hen will be a good broody and mama is to let her try. That she keeps going to the wrong nest isn't a good sign, but it should all be over soon....
Good luck, keep us updated!

 

[MistRidge]

It really depends. Her survival is paramount, and with eggs pipping it could be a day or two before she can leave again to eat or drink. Have food and water in her area, and a pile of straw for a soft landing if the nest box is off the ground. Once the babies hatch she will make a nest on the ground for them if the box is raised.

Her nest is thankfully already on the ground (I had made a little "nursery" at the back of the coop last year to slowly introduce some new chicks to the crew, so I just moved Mama and her nest box there when she had been sitting for about a week). I guess it makes sense that she'd want to do some last-minute self-care if she knew her babies were coming!

 

[MistRidge]

How old is the hen? The only way to know if a hen will be a good broody and mama is to let her try. That she keeps going to the wrong nest isn't a good sign, but it should all be over soon....
Good luck, keep us updated!

Hen is about 11 months old, and has been broody on and off since the winter. This was the first time she got really growly at me and any of the other chickens who dared approach her nest, so after about a week of her sitting on a random assortment of eggs she had hoarded I decided to give her some fresh ones so they'd at least all be at the same stage of development of she saw it through

 

[MistRidge]

Update #1: So I went to check on the situation this morning and could hear little peeps coming from the nest. Seems like the egg from yesterday continued to try to hatch, but Chickie had the shell stuck on its back like a little turtle. Its exposed feathers were dry and fluffy, so it must have been halfway out of the shell for a while. I guess this is what partially "shrink wrapped" looks like? Mama had kicked the chick over to the side of the nest out from under her. I lifted Mama up a bit to see what was going on, and saw her peck at the chick a few times.

I brought the chick inside and wrapped warm wet paper towel around it for about half an hour, and kept it in my crockpot on Low because I don't have an incubator (lol). I didn't want to try peeling at the stuck shell.
Went back to check and it had freed itself from the shell membrane! However, it doesn't seem to have fully absorbed its yolk sac, and has what looks like an umbilical hernia? So I'm just going to leave it in the warmth for now and see what happens. I'm currently trying to find a more appropriate heat source asap since my brooder plate doesn't want to turn on.

As of right now the chick is sitting up, peeping at the top of its lungs, and seems to be mostly drying out and fluffing up on its back. I imagine it will need to stay separate from any other potential hatchlings so they don't peck at its hernia. I know the prognosis is likely not great, and Mama probably kicked the chick aside because she felt the same way. No other eggs are showing movement as of yet but she's still sitting diligently.

Any advice to help this little turtle?

 

[MistRidge]

Update #2: A second chick hatched without any issues, and Mama was very good with it from the start. My little turtle chick perked up after ~24h in a makeshift brooder, especially after giving it some electrolyte+vitamin water and cleaning the hernia with some GermiStat a few times. The hernia has now dried up nicely and scabbed over, and looks like it's shrinking back in.

After making sure my little guy was eating and drinking on his own I decided to **cautiously** reintroduce him to his mom before he could imprint on me any more than he already had. To my surprise, Mama started excitedly cooing as soon as she heard his approaching peeps, and after a few light pecks ("are you mine?? is it you??") she tucked him under her wing. I watched for awhile and checked in several times throughout the rest of the day, and he and his sibling were both poking their heads out from her fluff. This morning the two kids were happily crawling all over mom while she was patiently trying to show them where individual food crumbles were.

So, in the end, it's looking like she's going to be a good mom! I guess she really did just need some last minute "Me Time" before the first hatch. I'm not sure if her leaving the nest after that first pip is what messed up the heat/humidity levels and caused the chick to become shrink-wrapped, or if that would have happened anyway. Regardless, I'm happy I ultimately intervened with the turtle shell chick because I don't think he could have escaped on his own. Although she was still diligently sitting on 5 remaining eggs, I tossed them today since there hasn't been any movement or evidence of pipping in 48h and I really didn't want to risk having an exploded rotten egg in the coop. But I think this first-time Mama is going to be busy enough with these two anyway

@SueT, @igorsMistress

 

[igorsMistress]

Update #2: A second chick hatched without any issues, and Mama was very good with it from the start. My little turtle chick perked up after ~24h in a makeshift brooder, especially after giving it some electrolyte+vitamin water and cleaning the hernia with some GermiStat a few times. The hernia has now dried up nicely and scabbed over, and looks like it's shrinking back in.

After making sure my little guy was eating and drinking on his own I decided to **cautiously** reintroduce him to his mom before he could imprint on me any more than he already had. To my surprise, Mama started excitedly cooing as soon as she heard his approaching peeps, and after a few light pecks ("are you mine?? is it you??") she tucked him under her wing. I watched for awhile and checked in several times throughout the rest of the day, and he and his sibling were both poking their heads out from her fluff. This morning the two kids were happily crawling all over mom while she was patiently trying to show them where individual food crumbles were.

So, in the end, it's looking like she's going to be a good mom! I guess she really did just need some last minute "Me Time" before the first hatch. I'm not sure if her leaving the nest after that first pip is what messed up the heat/humidity levels and caused the chick to become shrink-wrapped, or if that would have happened anyway. Regardless, I'm happy I ultimately intervened with the turtle shell chick because I don't think he could have escaped on his own. Although she was still diligently sitting on 5 remaining eggs, I tossed them today since there hasn't been any movement or evidence of pipping in 48h and I really didn't want to risk having an exploded rotten egg in the coop. But I think this first-time Mama is going to be busy enough with these two anyway

@SueT, @igorsMistress

I am so glad it all worked out!! It’s so stressful sometimes, I’m glad the little turtle was accepted

 

[igorsMistress]

@MistRidge how is your little family doing? Chicks still well?

 

[SmiYa0126]

What a great story! Good job!