Broodies on eggs? Broodies with babies? Post here.

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I just hatched 11 salmon Faverolles beneath two cochin bantam broody hens. Had another hen go broody and not give up. She's a silver-laced Wyandotte bantam named June. At the same time discovered that my Phoenix/Welsummer and Phoenix/RIR sisters' eggs are being fertilized by my shy gentleman OEG bantam roo, so placed two (one of each) eggs under her and we're now on day ten. These two eggs are due to hatch on the 28th. I'm most curious to know what the chicks will look like and whether or not they will grow to be on the large side or the small side as Phoenix tend to be small, the OEG bantam roo that fathered these embryos is "TINY" but the RIR and Welsummer are bother larger breeds. It will be interesting. Hopefully they will be girls, but if they're boys I wonder what they will look like, especially if they have the Phoenix traits. Maybe they will be beautiful roosters.
 
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Pics please!! Got any pics?? We want to see pics of your hen with babies!! Please!?
jumpy.gif
 
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Thank you! I've had years of feverish practice and I take so many photographs I guess you'd say I'm a 'mad photographer' or some kind of maniacal sharpshooter with a camera. I don't know. But, I enjoy it.
 
I just read that thread about the broody with the pasted vent...I wonder just how rare that is, and if that hen might have had health issues to begin with...?

I don't want to discourage anyone from giving their broody hens & their egglings the very best care, but I don't think they need all this interruption & intervention. I'd be more concerned about disrupting a broody's concentration & dedication with all this lifting & removing from the nest. I'm also more concerned about the risk of accidently cracking an egg trying to candle it (it's happened to me before!) then to just leave them under the hen.

The hens seem to do such a good job of keeping their egglings at just the right temperature & humidity, I wouldn't want to pull them off the nest at a time when the eggs needed to remain warmly covered. I give mine their regular layer pellets while they're setting, and assume they're eating & pooping just enough for their needs. I don't give them special treats to tempt their appetites, I'd be afraid they'd overindulge and then have to spend too much time off the nest to poop it out.

I do check on them every time I'm in the yard, and make sure they've got a good supply of food & water available, and also make sure they look all right -- bright eyes, good skin tone, a "shoot-if-you-must-this-old-grey-head" look on their face. Other than that, I leave them a-l-o-n-e!
 
I know it is hard but the best thing is to leave them alone as much as possible. I agree with the other post. I do candle twice during the first 18 days to remove the bad ones. Other than that...alone is better as I too have let 2 eggs slip away in the past to land hard and break.
 
I just can't get myself to bother my broody so I haven't candled or moved her off the nest. I did notice one egg sticking out from under her so I put it in the incubator. Found another one a little while later and since I knew it had been under her longer, I tucked it back up underneath her. It was still really warm so I knew it hadn't been out long. Hoping for the best!
 

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