broody at 5 1/2 months old?

[kaybats]

Last Sunday one of my March babies went missing. She is a Black Australorp; her name is Helen. I thought I looked everywhere for her and presumed the worst.

Yesterday, to my complete surprise ( and relief) I found her by accident in a remote part of the barn inside an old spare tire. At first I thought she was dead, but lo and behold, she had become broody! When I picked her up there were 20 eggs under her!

I moved her to a large dog crate to make her more comfortable. She wasn't very happy about it at first, but soon settled in.

My question is this. Is she too young to be broody? Should I try to stop it? Take away the eggs?

Also, most of the eggs were small, mostly hers I guess, but apparently some of my other March babies were helping out because she had been missing for only a week. If these small eggs ARE fertilized, will they hatch healthy chicks?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Arica]

Yep they will
Hatch

 

[sumi]

I had a hen go broody within 5 weeks of starting to lay. She hatched all her eggs and she was a great mom. I hear pullet eggs (first few eggs) are not good for hatching as the hens are still getting the hang of laying. Maybe you should sort the eggs and discard the smallest ones.

 

[kaybats]

Helen



Evidently, she'd been missing longer than I thought.....
found this in the pet carrier this morning!



Hatched from this tiny egg!

 

[maidenwolfx80]

AAAWWWW what a sweet tiny baby. Wow she is doing a good job,, GO HELEN!!!!