elmwood
New member
Hi all,
Well we are on day 19, and our broody has done a fantastic job sitting tight. Am feeding mama hen chick crumb as of yesterday.
I have noticed that she seems more eager to leave the nest box for longer periods yesterday and today. She got off for around 20 mins about 3x throughout the day. I have had a peep at the eggs, all warm and nothing apparent happening.
So is this normal, and ok?
Also, if we do get some chicks, (please), do we leave mama to get on with it all?
Do we remove shells or non hatched eggs etc.....and do we intervene at all if the chicks appear to be struggling to get out of the shell?
When can we expect them to start Pipping?
We are making a run for them this weekend, in anticipation of the chicks actually hatching.... have very much left nature to do its best.... none have been candled.
Any advice would be most welcome for us, and I can't tell you how exciting this all is. Just hope to goodness, we get at least one fertile/chick out of them all for the mama hens sake!
Well we are on day 19, and our broody has done a fantastic job sitting tight. Am feeding mama hen chick crumb as of yesterday.
I have noticed that she seems more eager to leave the nest box for longer periods yesterday and today. She got off for around 20 mins about 3x throughout the day. I have had a peep at the eggs, all warm and nothing apparent happening.
So is this normal, and ok?
Also, if we do get some chicks, (please), do we leave mama to get on with it all?
Do we remove shells or non hatched eggs etc.....and do we intervene at all if the chicks appear to be struggling to get out of the shell?
When can we expect them to start Pipping?
We are making a run for them this weekend, in anticipation of the chicks actually hatching.... have very much left nature to do its best.... none have been candled.
Any advice would be most welcome for us, and I can't tell you how exciting this all is. Just hope to goodness, we get at least one fertile/chick out of them all for the mama hens sake!