AWW man now what!?

[packmomma]

Ok so I had tried earlier to hatch 13 eggs..only one hatched..I have this one chick in the house..so I"m on day 15 of another batch in the bator to give this little one come company. Then today I find a clutch of eggs

Two chickens are going broody on me and there are 11 eggs.

I count my hens every night and they are all there. I candled the eggs and they are just started. But I don't know which one is broody and made the nest! So I guess my question is I have a youth chick area about 3 1/2 feet by 4 1/2 feet. If I put in two nesting areas because it is obvious they are both broody cause when I moved the nest with the one hen the other one started making a new nest there, Will they be ok together??

I probably will try it but wanted opinions. I had both in there together and there seems to be enough room if each sticks to their own egg area. My plan...very genius one is to take these 16 eggs I got laying in the bator and swap them out with the mommas eggs..hehe..pretty clever..and then add this lonely chick sometime at night when the others hatch. I know I need more chickens and I am fine with that, my hubby is not. I already have 22 chickens in the hen house and need to cull before winter..but seriously the chickens are making my chicken math lose control!!!

 

[honfor500]

Are your two broody hens going up to roost at night with the other chickens or sittin on eggs all night thats how I always know if there broody or not.

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Doesn`t sound like the ones with the clutch are ready to brood yet. If they`re still roosting, they haven`t got the urge yet. Maybe by the time your bator eggs hatch one of those hens will be broody. Whatever you do, don`t put those bator eggs out in the nest and expect a hen to suddenly want to hatch them. I`m a little confused at your logic, but I wouldn`t try to rush anything.......Pop

 

[packmomma]

Well the one is acting very broody..the other one I think just was wanting to lay. I took 4 eggs out and left 7 in there. If they go bad no biggy..but I think she is wanting to sit. Its hard to tell because I"m been in there messing and moving things and making them normal for long term. Kinda was unprepared. I will watch. I will not put any eggs out there until I know she is sitting all day and night before hand. I don't want to lose all 16 right before they hatch! I will watch her throughout the day. Those are all her eggs for sure though because she is my EE white egg layer. The one lays green and the other one hasn't begun to lay. They are too big for my silkie and I've been getting her eggs in the coop lately. I just can't believe I missed 11 eggs! I mean really they are right under my nose pretty much! But outside nesting area and wild animals- that's not a good combo.

 

[suzeqf]

Most of my girls lay in a big stew pot on top of a cabinet in the shop and 2 lay in a covered cat litter box and I've got several nest boxes for them but that's where they prefer and the pot is also where a few of my roo's roost go figure. So now I've got my first full fledged broody she's hatched one out of 5 banty eggs and even though she's got a week and 1/2 old chick she's still sitting on a reg size egg that is due to hatch this weekend.

This is how I knew my girls were broody.

Three of my banty's hens lay their first eggs around the same times. Titan laid first then Shiver and a week or so later Smore's laid. Titan stayed on the nest all day after laying her egg and was content but didnt' do the growl when someone would get close then Shiver laid in Titan's nest when she went to eat and decided to stay and when Titan tried to get back on her nest Shiver did the momma chicken growl and I tried to give Titan an egg but that was it for her then everyone decided to lay in Shiver's nest which meant she now had 5 eggs and she sat for about a week and then disater struck my "special roo" Ray destroyed the nest and eggs during the night of a nasty storm. But all was not lost I redid her nest and re-enforced it so Ray couldn't turn it over again and by the end of the day Shiver was sitting on 5 eggs again. Then Smore's laid, and she took over the nest and dared anyone to get close she not only did the growl but she also would puff up she got ran out of her nest a few times by my big girls who are 4 times her size but she always returned and gathered her eggs back around her at one time she had 14 eggs under and around her. I let her keep 5 banty eggs and right before i moved her to her enclosure because my polish girl would tear up her nest for some odd reason one of my big girls laid in her nest and the egg was covered up so I didn't see it and out of the 5 only one hatched she's a great mom because she is not only raising her 8 day old chick but is also still sitting on the reg size egg.

 

[packmomma]

Well good and bad news... today the neighbors dog came over. He grabbed my silkie April and took her home. They got her from him and brought her back to me but she died in my arms.

They feel so horrible. Their dog always brings things to them but they are always alive. He has never hinted at the chickens before and always comes down to visit my dog (his girlfriend). There was no blood but she was so little that I think he did internal damage to her. Anway...my plan was to cull a nice chunk of the older chickens but she was never going to be on the list... I have two silkie/GLW eggs in the bator. Hope they hatch now....

The good news is it does look like my chicken is broody. She's been sitting on the nest of eggs all day. I think I still need to take one out. She just isn't big enough to sit on all of them. She is a very sweet EE named Pepper. Its ok if she growls at me but I don't think she will as long as I leave her alone. I will continue to watch her will candle the eggs in about two weeks to see what we got. Even if she will take care of the chicks that will hatch in the bator I'll be happy.

 

[ziL]

Sorry about April

But good luck with Pepper.

 

[Shayna]

Sorry for your loss, that's so sad. You're lucky to have a good neighbor to do the right thing, even though it was very sad. Hopefully they can keep their dog from visiting now that it's known he's a threat to the chickens.

 

[honfor500]

So is she sitting on 7 eggs if so thats probably fine better chance more will hatch I found my hen sitting on a nest of 11 eggs so I put them under her in the hen house and on day 12 I candled and removed 6 duds The other 5 haved just piped today

 

[packmomma]

She has been sitting on them pretty regular. I will just have to candle here in a few days to see if anything is going on with them. Its iffy still. She hasn't laid anymore so that's good lol. I tried to explain to my husband chicken math and how right now I technically only have 12 chickens but he didn't understand lol. If all goes well I honestly have/will have a total of holy Cow

44! Man I gotta cull some....no wonder chicken math didn't sound right to him. I started with too much of a varience for his first time lol.