I May Have To Rethink This.....

Nothing like waiting to the last moment to get ALL the pertinent information!

It seems I may have waited a tad too long to transfer the hen and eggs! My plan was to do this tonight, Day 19-20. The chicks, if indeed there are any at all, should begin to appear or pip tomorrow so I thought "let her stay comfy and with the others as long as possible."

But now I am reading that disturbing the nest, the eggs as it were, is quite detrimental to the success of hatching. Oh dear....but leaving her in the coop with the others runs the risk of cannibalism..... everything likes to eat chicken, even chickens!

SO the dilemma is at my feet..... move them now or wait til they begin to hatch...... even then is seems to be risky. One should not "help" hatch an egg.....and I am reading more and more that the eggs MUST maintain 99.5 degrees throughout the 21 days of incubation. I NEVER saw the hen off the nest but I know it happened because there are more eggs under her than I slipped her to begin with.

And yes, while laying the eggs, the chicken sitting on the other eggs kept them warm but still.....

Well, we shall see what we shall see..... come Wednesday this may have all been for naught and hopefully the chicken will have come to her senses.