Abandoned eggs advice needed!

[vicky]

Update and the news is good!
The pipping egg has hatched and is bouncing around looking very healthy - hooray!

The 4 remaining eggs are all now pipping...'helped' by the chick battering against them...
Should I try putting any hatched chicks under Mum tonight? Any particular way to help her accept them?

[darkbrowneggs]

Hi - I reckon she should take them (I have never had probs in the past) Make sure it is dark and she is settled down, holding the chick in your hand with fingers down and back of hand covering it in case she pecks as you get your hand by her. Gently offer each chick up against her breast and make sure it snuggles under.
Try and keep the hen contained so she cant take the chicks out and about. An old fashioned broody coop is best - one where the hen can put her head out to feed but the chicks are contained in a safe run in front of her. If not just a small enclosure so she cant go walkabout.
All the best
Sue

[RichmondHens]

I would put them all under, hatched or not. She's more likely to accept them if they actually hatch under her rather than trying to introduce them later. Do it tonight when dark so she can't see what you are doing and see what is happening in the morning. If she doesn't accept them then your home made heat box seems to be working so far so they can go back in there till you get a brooder rigged up.

[vicky]

The one hatched and 4 pipping eggs were put under her last night. This morning 2 of the pipping eggs have died, one is still pipping but looks ok, one has pipped and mum is happily sitting with the 2 new chicks and the live egg.
Will restrain myself and not look till lunchtime to give her some p&q. She has been shut into the nestbox of the broody coop with food and water and it's quite dark in there too.
Fingers crossed for the still pipping egg but I'm fairly happy with the outcome considering there might not have been any more hatchings.

[di]

Well Done...hopefully the weather will stay a little crappy for long enough for the last two to hatch...I've found if it's chilly mum is keener to sit on her chicks instead of taking them out.x

[vicky]

Good news is that of the abandoned eggs 2 survived and are with Mum (a bit slower on their feet than the older ones but doing ok).
Bad news the last pipping egg didn't make it. Checked yesterday lunchtime and Mum had left it, stone cold, not breathing. Removed it and checked on garden, about 10 ins later I saw a tiny twitch so put in back in the hotbox (still no signs of breathing) and it 'came back to life', within an hour it hauled it'self out of the shell, fantastic I thought (even told it if it were a boy it wouldn't be eaten!), checked 10 mins later and it was dead - must have been too much for it
Lots of lessons learnt for the next hatch...
So mum has 5 babies and seems v happy, esp touching as she's an ex batt only out the cage since last Dec.
Will get the camera...

[Glutton4...]

Yes CAMERA - good girl.

My Broody that's sitting is a December ex-Bat too!

Today is day eighteen....

[Gro-Bag]

Gosh - what a trauma - just caught up on this thread and was holding my breath as I read - well done on 5 healthy chicks and I should think a very happy ex-batt, bless her!

[MrsC]

Well done! x

[vicky]

Very hard to get a photo of them all in the same place!
Went out for the first time today for about 10 mins before the rain clouds came again...

[Glutton4...]

Lovely pics Vicky - thanks for sharing!