Broody Bantam, going to try letting her set...need advice

[Chooksaurus]

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Put a bright light behind it and see what is happening on the inside. The link in my post above shows what it looks like.

 

[Bedste]

be careful .... I killed a chick the first time I tried candling..... by dropping the egg not by the light or anything.... I also had 2 eggs explode in my first hatch which taught me the importance of candling... So I better get good at it.

 

[austinhart123]

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hold a flashlight to a developing egg, you can see how it is developing and weather its fertile and/or viable

type it in the search box on this website and read about it

 

[Chooksaurus]

Well, she somehow manages to spread her little self over all 7 eggs, but the temp has dropped considerably today and looks to be quite cool for the next week minimum.

Another interesting note...a second bantam has apparently gone broody. She was sitting on some freshly laid eggs today (one of hers included) when I got home from work, and when I went out at dark to lock the door, she was still sitting on them. I took the eggs from under her, and she paid me back with a few nice black and blue welts on the back of my hand. I slipped a few golf balls under her, so we'll see if she stays on them or stops laying. If she is broody, maybe I'll find some quail eggs or another source of fertile eggs to expand the flock.

This could turn out to be quite fun!

 

[Cackling Hen]

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I also have a jap bantam sitting on 13 eggs lol. They must be good mommys Today is only day 3 for me I cant wait we will all have to post pictures

 

[austinhart123]

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and so it begins

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Setting eggs under broody hens and watching them incubate, hatch, & tend their chicks has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of our chicken keeping. I rarely interfere with them once I've settled them in their broody chambers and set the eggs under them. Their instincts are impressive and most do a fantastic job of maintaining ideal conditions no matter what the weather does.

After dropping/cracking eggs during candling, I don't bother with that either. And haven't had any dud eggs explode in the nest. I also trust them to know when they should get up to eat, drink & poop, and haven't had any hens die of starvation during incubation.

My bantams are the ones that usually go broody and I usually re-set them with standard-sized eggs to hatch. I wouldn't mind having more bantam hens, but certainly don't need more bantam roos around. I've butchered some for their 1 pound of meat, but would rather not go through that trouble for so little food.

Once I set a bantam hen with 6 duck eggs. She hatched out 4 ducklings, to her great surprise, and raised them until they towered over her.

I wish you joy & success with your own broody hens & their chicks!

 

[Chooksaurus]

Update: Day 6 rolled around, so I took my daughter out to the coop and we tried candling 3 of the eggs to see if we could tell anything. We definitely see an air pocket in all 3 of them, and what looks like a very dark yolk on one side. I can barely make out some veining/spider web shadows, so I am hoping that means all is well and good.

Exciting stuff, but now I am going to just let them sit until hatch day so we don't mess anything up. It will be a nice little surprise if it works. Day 21 will be the day before her 6th birthday party!


The nesting box that the hen chose is almost 3 feet off the ground. Aside from building a ramp, what else can I do as a precaution for when the little ones decide to jump down if we are not home at hatch time? I thought maybe a thick pile of straw would help, but will they hang around mommy or will they try to explore right away? They are due on a Saturday, but that doesn't guarantee they won't show up Friday before we get home from work.

 

[austinhart123]

i would be careful, its not about them falling, its about them not bieng able to get back up and then dying of exposure, so i would just make sure that the babies cant get out of the box maybe put a piece of wood over the entry that covers 1/3 of the entry way so the babies cant get out

 

[Chooksaurus]

The current plan is to have a brooder box set up near the floor, so as long as they can get down without breaking a leg or something, they should be okay. The combination of the brooder box and broody hen should keep them safe from the other hens I hope?