Hatch help please!

[OverWyreGrower]

We put 6 Barnevelder eggs (from ebay) under our virgin Welsummer broody...

She chucked an egg out after about 8 days, but has sat tight since then, only been lifted off by us for toiletting etc.

1 chick hatched on Day 20 (and is fine and doing well), however, we're now on Day 22, and there is no sign of the other 4 eggs hatching

Broody is still sat on them, but not pancaked out on them - I'm assuming this is cos she has a tiny chick under her wing now.

Can't fault her behaviour - when I went to check on her, she puffed up and let me know I wasn't welcome

Eggs show no signs of pipping, but feel like they have something fairly solid in them. How long should I wait before consigning them to the bin?

I don't really want the broody to only have 1 chick, so I'm prepared to source day-olds to pop under her, so she has a proper 'brood'.

[Nicos]

You'll probably find that mom will decide when to give up on the eggs to look after the chick.
If you make sure the chick has access to water and crumb next to where mom is sitting, then she may stay for an extra day or so- but the surviving chick will need teaching how to scratch around and her instincts will go with that pretty soon.

Well- that's what has happened with my clutches in the past.

Fingers crossed they start pipping tomorrow

[CoraxAurata]

If they have all been well covered (which with 6 they should have been, 48 hrs from first chick more are unlikely - maybe give it another day if you are sure chick is getting food.... don't let her neglect its training for a bunch of duds....

My Barnevelder has 1 chick who at 3 days old is pretty much fending for itself, she keeps it warm at night and checks on it occaisionally but seeems to leave it alone far more than is heatlthy, grr! hope yours is a better mum!

My Prime Dorking roo dropped dead the other night for no obvious reason, and my best C.B. Maran Roo has a swelling on his foot that 2 courses of Baytril haven't fixed (though he's perkier in himself) - so am trying a poultice - he does look a little silly with a great big bandage on his foot, a pinemartin (protected) has been seen 3 times in the last fortnight within 200 yrds of home, 2 hens are egg eating and teaching the others bad habbits, several birds won't go to bed, one broody is so bald you'd think her a newly rescued battery hen (her and her sister just lose all their feathers when they go broody its not neglect I swear, I have several crowing but not quite big enough for the pot roos to wake me up every morning (dawn courus? cacophany more like!) and the litlle s*d I took in for my freind attacks me regularly - especially if I have bare ankles! - I could go off chooks you know :P

But I love 'em really!

[CoraxAurata]

Oop Nicos crossed posting! lol

[RichmondHens]

Have you listened to the eggs? Can you hear anything inside? By day 22 you should be hearing scratching, tapping and/or cheeping noises. Could they be a bit dry? Try giving them a spray with water. If silent then unfortunately they may be dead or (as you didn't/couldn't candle them) not viable in the first place. Leave it up to the hen to decide when she wants to leave them. As long as there is food and water near her she and the chick will feed when they want. Don't feel you need to get another chick or two just to keep the other company. She has mum so they will get along fine together. Many is the time I have just had a token chick with a mum (usually as a result of bunging an egg under a persistent broody to bring her out of broodiness) - they get along just fine. If nothing has hatched by day 25 or so then you can dispose of them then.

[HayleyB]

Cookie would have brooded for weeks if we hadn't given her the heave ho, the final eggs were not fertile. I gave it about three days over and then pushed. Might be the same by the sounds of it.

[RichmondHens]

My (useless) Welsummer is still sitting (now on an empty nest since I gave her eggs to the Light Sussex). Having had two days pottering around the run she decided to go back to the nestbox and sit again. "Her" chicks are doing just fine under a more experienced mother.

[HayleyB]

Chooks??????? eh?

[MaureenHall]

Like the others have said, don't worry about there only being 1 chick for mum to look after. The broody I borrowed from Shellingtons is doing a good job of looking after the 1 chick she has

[Nicos]

I've had one chick looked after by a mom- it did fine and had lots of attention- and tastey bits from mum.
I get the feeling they really don't need playmates if mom is there

[CoraxAurata]

LOL I have 3 hens running about with one chick each at the moment...

[OverWyreGrower]

Thanks everyone... I listened for tapping/cheeping/pipping last night, but couldn't hear anything, so we're assuming the worst... hey ho, the miracle of life, eh!?

She is a good mum to her single chick so far, I've seen them off the nest twice today, and she has been showing the chick how to peck and scratch etc. Chick is eating and drinking and jumping around - very cute

We are going to attempt to get a couple of DO Barnevelders in Cumbria tomorrow to put with the broody and chick, but if we can't, I won't be too bothered.

I suppose that's the problem with hatching eggs from eBay - I've no idea (until we crack the eggs tomorrow) whether they were viable or not

[Nicos]

I gently shook my eggs when they were at about 24 days- you'd expect some reaction if they were alive ...I'd have thought.

Glad she's a good mom to he rchick- I've introduced a newish chick to a mom at about 9 days after her own hatchings and she was eventually OK.

[jessmorris]

..you could try cheeping at the eggs and see if they reply (this is serious!)

[Polly Fouracre]

If you do put day-old chicks under her do this carefully. Wait until dark then slip them under her wing.(I dare say you knew this!)