Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread - Page 945

I'm so upset .... I went down to feed the girls this morning and when I peered in the coop Popcorn was sitting on the dummy nest ....  I had put decoy eggs in a week ago after Popcorn was bullied and forced off her nest by my other bantam cochin who was thinking about going broody .... Well that must have happened again....  so the eggs were ice cold and I have no idea how long they have been that way ....  The blanks on the other hand were nice and toasty   I took the eggs up to the house and put them in the incubator..... The lavender silkie was a blank so no loss there but the best darkest Marans eggs were under Popcorn and well it looks like they were developing ......  I put the decoy eggs back in Popcorns nest and when I went down a half hour later she was back on her nest...  I'm not sure what I should do.  Who knows if these eggs are viable now.  Should I give her back real eggs???  I guess I could try to move her and see if she will sit and then give her real eggs.... Ughhhhhh I feel so bad for her 2 plus weeks of hard work just to be derailed by the cochin who is playing with going broody.  I'm open to all suggestions and tips ... She is my 1st broody ..... 

I would go ahead and incubate them either to the point of lockdown then let her try to hatch them or hatch them in the bator and put them under her the next night to raise them.  All may not be lost - they can get cold and still hatch. 

I'm worried that they were left for 12+ hours.... I'm still going to try and see if they will hatch   Poor thing wants to be a mommy so badly!!! 

I'm so upset .... I went down to feed the girls this morning and when I peered in the coop Popcorn was sitting on the dummy nest ....  I had put decoy eggs in a week ago after Popcorn was bullied and forced off her nest by my other bantam cochin who was thinking about going broody .... Well that must have happened again....  so the eggs were ice cold and I have no idea how long they have been that way ....  The blanks on the other hand were nice and toasty   I took the eggs up to the house and put them in the incubator..... The lavender silkie was a blank so no loss there but the best darkest Marans eggs were under Popcorn and well it looks like they were developing ......  I put the decoy eggs back in Popcorns nest and when I went down a half hour later she was back on her nest...  I'm not sure what I should do.  Who knows if these eggs are viable now.  Should I give her back real eggs???  I guess I could try to move her and see if she will sit and then give her real eggs.... Ughhhhhh I feel so bad for her 2 plus weeks of hard work just to be derailed by the cochin who is playing with going broody.  I'm open to all suggestions and tips ... She is my 1st broody ..... 

 I am so sorry. I to lost a hen today. But she has been going out for the last few days, I was planning on putting her out of her misery today but she beat me to it. I am very very sorry. Nothing like loosing the ones you favore ( or any for that matter)

I have 4 broodys sitting on various days. Each in individual nests . I used large wire dog cages, that way they can't nest hop or get bullied off. I open the cages while I'm out doing chores but rarely see them leave the cage. They have food and water in there and I just clean up as needed. The 4th one had a clutch in the barn nest boxes and keep moving. She'd get off to do her daily and would just pick a nest with an egg in it, so I found an exercise pen for her, now she is content in her single nest too.

   All the stressing about whether a broody is going to get kicked off, go to a different nest etc. Put her up in her own space, and if she stays great, if she doesn't at least you tried. Leaving her in the community boxes is more likely to get broken eggs, abandoned nests and such. Give yourself a better chance of success, move her at night, lock her in for a couple of days until she settles down, and leave her alone. She will NOT starve to death, she will get up WHEN SHE wants/needs to. Yes, some of them poop in the nest, I take a bucket of hot water out and rinse the eggs off as soon as I find them and replace hay with as little fuss as possible. Yes, they are pets, but they are NOT babies, they do this on their own all the time. They will choose a hidden nest site if they are not trained to the nest box. My free range flock nests in the barn where there is a bank of nest boxes, but usually the broodys will use a quiet corner. I pen them so I can give them the eggs I want them to have and the other hens can't add new eggs to the nest or cause eggs to be broken while bothering her on the nest.

 Today is "Day 21" and I think the chicks are hatching.  I hear "peeping" and Buffy keeps looking down or at her feathers like she feels something going on.  Then she re-positions herself, but stays put!  And, I'm not going to touch her....the sweet little momma.

Please forgive me for asking this, if it is a stupid question...  Will Buffy smother the babies?  I don't comprehend how they can hatch with her weight on top of them?