Can't broody hen sense lack of life developmt in eggs...

amiachicknorwat · May 28, 2016

...and so get off, abandoning that egg pile for a new one? This is happening with one of my brooders and I wonder if I should try picking her up and moving her back atop the old pile? It's only been a few hours, still. Thanks, Nick

Egghead_Jr · May 28, 2016

No she can't. Yes you should put her on her eggs and remove the eggs for eating as soon as you can every day. When they go off the nest each day if there are eggs elsewhere can and do sit on them instead of the original nest.

Chickens are not psychic and can not tell a fertile form infertile egg anymore than we can. As the eggs develop and embryo get large they and we can feel movement in them. That's well into a incubation. I believe it's the movement of eggs, when the chicks orient position prior to external pipping, that triggers the hen to stop turning them last few days.

AmyLynn2374 · May 28, 2016

Egghead_Jr said:
No she can't. Yes you should put her on her eggs and remove the eggs for eating as soon as you can every day. When they go off the nest each day if there are eggs elsewhere can and do sit on them instead of the original nest.

Chickens are not psychic and can not tell a fertile form infertile egg anymore than we can. As the eggs develop and embryo get large they and we can feel movement in them. That's well into a incubation. I believe it's the movement of eggs, when the chicks orient position prior to external pipping, that triggers the hen to stop turning them last few days.

I'm going to pick your brain......you have many members here that argue that the chickens DON'T stop turning the eggs at any point. I'm curious, (I know I couldn't tell if my broodies were turning or not usually. Unless I had messed with them and they were resituating their eggs.) Now personally, I have always felt, like you, that they can feel the chicks movement and hold still during that time. According to the Cobb development chart the chick flips over turning itself to the air cell end of the egg around day 14 and then gets into hatch position, head under wing, beak up, about day 17. Has there been any "official" studies or notations about if and when a hen stops? It makes since to me that they would feel the movement and stop, even if it is just during the action itself, and is my basis for my theories on not turning during this period.

Egghead_Jr · May 28, 2016

In all honesty I don't watch them that closely. Perhaps I'm assuming something but do note if at all possible to move the eggs, as in not contained in a small box nest, they do so all first few weeks. After that they do not and seem to come out only to poop then run right back in last few days. To me this suggests they do feel the life moving under them and adjust actions accordingly. My last broody had an odd hatch where they were few days late, think due to little bedding in coop with stilts and had a cold week. She spent very little time out of coop those last days then stayed on the nest with the chicks hatched not getting off. The eggs were set via birds laying them in her nest over a three days and finally called it to pull the unhatched eggs from under her. I think she would have stayed on them indefinitely and waste away. In no time after cleaning out the nest she was acting like a mom with what hatched.

And then there is individuality of each brooding hen. Each is a bit different in behavior. If there was a study it would have to take that into account and compare to hatch results. As in those that keep turning eggs or other characteristics of that brooding hen and how their hatch compared to hens that did things differently. As you know there are good mothers and those you don't use to brood again. It's these individual tendencies that make them good or not. How long off nest each day and all the little things that add up to good hatch or failure.

AmyLynn2374 · May 28, 2016

Egghead_Jr said:
In all honesty I don't watch them that closely. Perhaps I'm assuming something but do note if at all possible to move the eggs, as in not contained in a small box nest, they do so all first few weeks. After that they do not and seem to come out only to poop then run right back in last few days. To me this suggests they do feel the life moving under them and adjust actions accordingly. My last broody had an odd hatch where they were few days late, think due to little bedding in coop with stilts and had a cold week. She spent very little time out of coop those last days then stayed on the nest with the chicks hatched not getting off. The eggs were set via birds laying them in her nest over a three days and finally called it to pull the unhatched eggs from under her. I think she would have stayed on them indefinitely and waste away. In no time after cleaning out the nest she was acting like a mom with what hatched.

And then there is individuality of each brooding hen. Each is a bit different in behavior. If there was a study it would have to take that into account and compare to hatch results. As in those that keep turning eggs or other characteristics of that brooding hen and how their hatch compared to hens that did things differently. As you know there are good mothers and those you don't use to brood again. It's these individual tendencies that make them good or not. How long off nest each day and all the little things that add up to good hatch or failure.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Can't broody hen sense lack of life developmt in eggs...

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amiachicknorwat

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