Help please, only one hatched ...

[Che Guebuddha]

Hi all,

I keep Dansk Landrace Hens both black and brown and one of my hens started laying on one egg 21 days ago. Within one week she got more eggs and ended up with 13 eggs total. The first egg has hatched today and its a black chick Some eggs need a few more days to hatch, but the mama hen is not laying on them anymore.

She is laying only on that one living chick beside the nest! What will happen to the other eggs? Should I do something, like place them in a box with a light bulb over them to keep them warm?

All and any help much appreciated!

[Helle K.]

The only thing you can do is to continue the hatching in an incubator. The remaining chicks will continue to break out over as many days as it takes until all eggs have hatched for 21 days

[Che Guebuddha]

Tak Helle!

If I get lucky with hatching the remaining eggs can I still place them with the mama hen or will she kill them?

[Henriette Hall]

When at hen starts laying on eggs, she should have all the eggs at the same time. She will not stay on the nest and wait for the rest of the chickens to hatch. If you can get an incubator asap you may be able to save the rest of the eggs, but they are possibly already dead.

[Vipse]

The only chance to save the rest of the chicks, is to put them in a incubator (rugemaskine) instantly. Next time you should remove the eggs every day until your hen lays all day long on either false or real eggs  and then replace the eggs under her with the eggs you collected ....then they will hatch at the same time 
Hens leave the rest of the eggs a couple of days after the first chicks hatched !
Be aware that other hens like too lay their eggs in the nest, so you need too make sure that they cant do that.
I hope you understand my poor English 

[Che Guebuddha]

Thanks for all help

I have no incubator so I placed 6 eggs in a small aquarium (no water in it) and placed a light bulb above them. I also placed a dish cloth in a small dish with water in for humidity.

So far I have only 21'C where the eggs are. Should it be warmer?

Must I turn the eggs twice a day?



By the way, when I went to the hen to take the eggs away from her I found only 6 eggs she actually moved 6 eggs under her. Is it possible that she had moved only the ones that are still alive? Can hens sense the living ones in the unhatched eggs?

Thank you for helping me! I thought Hens can naturally raise chicks but it seems as they need human help to so 

[Helle K.]

The temperature must be as close to 37,5'C as possible

[Helle K.]

Tak Helle!

If I get lucky with hatching the remaining eggs can I still place them with the mama hen or will she kill them?

She might accept them. I think there is a good chance that she will. Place the chicks gently under mamma hen's wings from behind at nighttime, when mamma hen is on the nest, and then wait and listen. If she seems interestet and calm...perhaps talking to them... everything is fine, but if she looks angry and raises the fethers especially in the neck, you have to remove the chiks and nurse them yourself under a heat lamp

[Che Guebuddha]

The temperature inside the aquarium went from 21'C to little over 40'C so I opened it totally to cool it down and now its constant on 33'C. Im trying to get it up to 37'C. Im not sure this will work but I will give it 5 days before I throw them away

I think I will need to buy an incubator soon.

[Helle K.]

You frie og boil the eggs at 40'C +. If the temperature in your aquarium keeps on turning over 38'C during the night - where I guess you won't be watching - the eggs are dead.

I was very glad, that I have an incubator 8 days ago, where my mama hen killed her first chicken, and I very quickly had to remove the rest of the hatching and breaking eggs to the incubator

[Helle K.]

Do you have an update on the situation in the aqua-nest?

[Che Guebuddha]

None of the eggs hatched so far the temperature in the night went down from 37'C to 34'C so Im trying to raise it a bit more now. I will update as soon I know more

[Che Guebuddha]

One eggs hatched in the "aquarium-incubator" I helped the chick a bit by removing gently the egg shell but I can see the chick is still attached to the egg with some sort of cord hanging from the vent. Do I cut the cord or do I let the chick release itself?

[Helle K.]

Wait an se if the chik doesn't release the cord itself

[Che Guebuddha]

How long do i wait and where to cut the cord? Do I pull out the cord?

Thanks for helping this chick come to life