uh oh! Off the nest for awhile --now back on?! What to do?

[kellykate]

So the hen is hatching about 10 eggs and has been sitting dutifully for 2 weeks. She is in the coop with the others and no one has been bothering her. She gets off about every other day to get food and water. Today she got off and when I got home from work she was in the wrong nest box sitting on nothing! Not sure what happened?? I felt the eggs and they were cool but I picked her up and put her back on the eggs and there she sits today! What should I do --are the chicks dead/no longer developing? Will she sit long enough if I put new eggs under her (I don't have a rooster so I have hatching eggs from a friend). Thanks so much for your help this is my (and mama hens (a silkie)) first time hatching!

 

[lockedhearts]

They should be fine, might hatch a little late but should be fine. She can feel the chicks in the eggs and should sit until they hatch.

 

[ScissorChick]

It depends on how long they were cold.

Next time she goes broody, (And if you decide to let her hatch somthing) I'd put her in a dog crate by herself

So that she in confined to one erea, and doesn't have the choice of setting in different nest boxes. It will also

keep naughty chickens from picking on her

Just for the record, I've never owned silkies in my entire life. But...

...From what I've learned, they are the starfish (No brains) of the chicken world..

No offense to your silkie!

ScissorChick

 

[spiritdance]

okay, I know we all love our birds here, but let's face it, they aren't putting in any applications for rocket scientist positions ... broody hens can actually get "lost" when they return to the nest, and thus end up in the wrong nest! I've had it happen more than a few times, and the eggs were always okay. Heck, I've even read on here of eggs getting accidentally refrigerated and still hatching, so I think you're alright. As for the "lost hen syndrome," it used to frustrate me no end (along with the egg thievery the broodies engage in), so I tried removing them to broody cages as one poster suggests here. That solves the "lost" problem, but then you have to re-integrate the hen after brooding, along with all the problems that entails ... yes, I know they will work it out, but I'm a worrier and a natural born arbitrator, so I find myself hovering in the coop for an entire day just making sure no one carries the pecking order thing too far. So recently I redesigned my nesting boxes with removable inside dividers. Now, I can take out one or two dividers when a hen goes broody, add a front screen and door with a few screws, and those boxes become an instant broody cage IN the coop. I am now anxiously awaiting my next broody so I can try out the new system. If all goes according to plan, I should be able to open up the door in the evenings when I'm in the coop feeding, etc., so the broody hen remains part of the flock but others can't lay in her nest, she doesn't get "lost" or steal extra eggs, etc. Once the chicks are a few days old I plan to leave the door open and let mama take care of introducing them to their coop mates. Since she will be in the coop through the whole broody process, there hopefully won't be as much "pecking order" nonsense to deal with. Of course, I imagine I'll still be doing the hovering thing (sigh ... it's just in my nature), but hopefully it will be less stressful on the birds if not on me.

 

[ScissorChick]

Sounds really neat!

I hope it works out for you!

(Just a thought, do you think you could post pictures of it? If you'd rather not, that's ok.)

 

[kellykate]

Thanks!! I agree, as much as I love my laying ladies --they are no rocket scientists! I'm not sure what her deal is -- today I came home from work and she was out with the other hens and not doing her hurried, rushed mama scarfing food and water business --just casually pecking around??? But when I went out to close them up for the night she was back on the nest (although she didn't have the eggs all neatly tucked underneath her --some were out on the edges not covered). But she is still super protective and tried to peck me when I reached for them -- So maybe she is over it (grrr!)?? Any ideas??

I feel awful because I was trying to hatch these eggs for a student of mine (I teach 2nd grade) in that her chickens were recently attacked and most were killed. Help me!