Bantam Cochin hatching eggs?

[Three Little Bunnies]

Hi!

I no longer have a rooster. I know you need a roo if you want to hatch your own eggs. Just preparing for the future when I can get a roo.

I heard that my ~13 week old Buff bantam Cochin will probably go broody a lot when she is older. How many eggs would she be able to fit? I am thinking, based on her current size, not more than four or five. She is super tiny!

What are some things I need to know about hatching chicks?

Thanks!

 

[nchls school]

Hi!

I no longer have a rooster. I know you need a roo if you want to hatch your own eggs. Just preparing for the future when I can get a roo.

I heard that my ~13 week old Buff bantam Cochin will probably go broody a lot when she is older. How many eggs would she be able to fit? I am thinking, based on her current size, not more than four or five. She is super tiny!

What are some things I need to know about hatching chicks?

Thanks!

My cochin bantam laid between 12-15 eggs to a clutch before she was killed while brooding. At 13 weeks your pullet will grow yet. If you don't collect her eggs or replace them with dummy eggs as they're laid you can expect her to go broody approximately 3 weeks after she starts laying eggs. My serama bantams usually are grandmas before they are a year old! But they start laying sooner than cochin. Probably the biggest mistakes I hear of is people giving a broody hen eggs over a period of days. Staggered hatches are a pain. And resist the notion of giving the hen too many eggs to hatch. Fewer is better-too many and eggs get chilled day after day until most, or all, of the eggs are ruined.

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

My cochin bantam laid between 12-15 eggs to a clutch before she was killed while brooding. At 13 weeks your pullet will grow yet. If you don't collect her eggs or replace them with dummy eggs as they're laid you can expect her to go broody approximately 3 weeks after she starts laying eggs. My serama bantams usually are grandmas before they are a year old! But they start laying sooner than cochin. Probably the biggest mistakes I hear of is people giving a broody hen eggs over a period of days. Staggered hatches are a pain. And resist the notion of giving the hen too many eggs to hatch. Fewer is better-too many and eggs get chilled day after day until most, or all, of the eggs are ruined.

Thanks for your reply! I hope she does grow, I would like to integrate her and her "sister" with my large flock, but little Jenny will be the only bantam and I don't want her to get picked on because of her small size. I will make sure to collect her eggs because I don't want her to go broody immediately. If another hen goes broody at the same time as Jenny, would it be a bad idea to let them share a nest box or hatch eggs together? I heard they might fight over chicks if I do that.

 

[nchls school]

Thanks for your reply! I hope she does grow, I would like to integrate her and her "sister" with my large flock, but little Jenny will be the only bantam and I don't want her to get picked on because of her small size. I will make sure to collect her eggs because I don't want her to go broody immediately. If another hen goes broody at the same time as Jenny, would it be a bad idea to let them share a nest box or hatch eggs together? I heard they might fight over chicks if I do that.

Hens will often share a nest. Overall, it is not a good idea. Most do not fight but they will try to dominant the nest pushing the other hen aside. It often ends with eggs being damaged and even chilled when they're not covered correctly. When I have hens do this I set up a second nest so the two are side by side with a short barrier between the nest so eggs can not be pulled from nest to nest. In a situation like this the hens often coparent and raise the chicks together.

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

Hens will often share a nest. Overall, it is not a good idea. Most do not fight but they will try to dominant the nest pushing the other hen aside. It often ends with eggs being damaged and even chilled when they're not covered correctly. When I have hens do this I set up a second nest so the two are side by side with a short barrier between the nest so eggs can not be pulled from nest to nest. In a situation like this the hens often coparent and raise the chicks together.

Thanks!

 

[Ghakanyuy George]

Thanks!

Thanks I have learned I lost about 18 eggs because I didn't have this knowledge