Broody bantam!

[Willow2253]

My Japanese bantam australorp mix hen has finally gone broody! I’ve been expecting her to go broody this week. Interestingly, she goes broody anytime people visit, or someone leaves for more than a week and then comes back. Well, my brother left for a week and a half and got back on Monday, so now the hen is broody! I’ve been itching to hatch some eggs, so we’re giving her whatever the other hens lay tomorrow, and maybe the next day, depending on how many we get.
Realistically, how many eggs could I fit under her? She’s probably a little bigger than the average banty, though not by much, and has successfully sat on 5 at a time before, though I’m hoping I can squeeze a couple more in there this time around. They’d be mostly standard sized eggs with 1 or 2 banty eggs.

 

[cavemanrich]

Squeeze in what you think will fit. Considering your location, its a 50-50 chance that ambient temps will be favorable.
BTW this is the time of season that many chickens do go broody.
Your eggs are of course fertile,,,,,,,,
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Willow2253]

Thanks! She’s a good mama, I’m confident she’ll do well. Last time she had a 100% hatch rate on fertile eggs. The weather is in the 60’s-70’s. What’s the favorable range for ambient temps?
This has been a pattern of when she goes broody, she does it even in the winter. It’s happened that way at least half a dozen times, and it’s the only noticeable factor that changes when she goes broody. She’s the only one of our hens that does go broody, her mom did it once but never again.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What’s the favorable range for ambient temps?

If you follow this link you'll see that it can be below freezing. I'm not sure what the upper range is, I've had broodies do quite well up in the 90's F and even over 100.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/947046/broody-in-michigan-winter

You are going to have to use your judgement on how many is too many. Eggs and hens come in different sizes as you know. Some bantams can barely cover 4 regular eggs. I had a hen hide a nest and bring off 18 chicks. I never found that nest so I have no idea how many she started with. I typically give a broody 12 eggs of the size she normally lays but I had one that just didn't look right, I was uncomfortable giving her more than ten. You don't have this problem this time of the year in Oregon but if a hen is going to hatch when it is really cold I reduce the number. The chicks grow pretty fast and in colder weather the hen needs to be able to cover them all. In warmer weather I've seen chicks sleep next to the broody instead of under her so it is less important.

Is she brooding with the flock or are you isolating her? A hen needs to be able to cover all the eggs she has. If she can't one can get pushed out, cool off, and die. Then it gets back under her and another gets pushed out. If she is brooding with the flock another hen or two may leave an egg or two with her. That's the way I do it. I mark the eggs and check under her after the others have laid for the day to remove any that don't belong. So I leave enough room for a couple of eggs. If you are isolating her where the others cannot leave any eggs with her you don't have to worry about this.

It has to be your judgment I can't give a solid number over the internet. But May in Oregon, she should have good weather. Good luck!

 

[Willow2253]

She’s staying in with the flock, but she usually picks the box that gets used least, so after the first couple of days the other hens don’t try to lay where she’s sitting. I’ll definitely be marking the eggs and checking them. There’s currently 6 other hens laying and they have 6 nests to choose from, so there’s plenty of room.
Thanks!

 

[NatJ]

we’re giving her whatever the other hens lay tomorrow, and maybe the next day, depending on how many we get.

Put them all under her the same day, so they'll all hatch about the same time.

 

[Willow2253]

Either way we may have a day off on hatch day. One of my roos is a bantam too, and the chicks he fathers tend to hatch a little early. The last couple hatched days 19 and 20.

 

[NatJ]

Either way we may have a day off on hatch day. One of my roos is a bantam too, and the chicks he fathers tend to hatch a little early. The last couple hatched days 19 and 20.

But if you put in eggs on different days, the spread might be even wider, depending on which ones get which father.

 

[Willow2253]

That’s true. Sorry I neglected to mention I was planning on putting them all under her at the same time. I was going to save up for a day or two if we didn’t get very many today.

 

[NatJ]

Sorry I neglected to mention I was planning on putting them all under her at the same time. I was going to save up for a day or two if we didn’t get very many today.

Glad to hear it!

This board has such a mix of newcomers and experts that I'm never sure when something isn't stated because it is obvious to the poster, and when it isn't stated because the poster doesn't know