broody banty incubating how many?

[GoodEgg]

Hello,

LOL, I wasn't even sure what subject line to put. I'm just so tickled ... a fellow byc-er (thanks Charlie!) gave me some eggs to put under some of the broodies I seem to be overrun with just now.

I'm glad to have some use for broody hens instead of them just keeping everyone else from laying.

My question is this ... I have a few brooding in the coop, and a few who insist on brooding in the bushes. The ones in the bushes I have to pick up and put in the coop at night for their own safety, so I didn't want to give eggs to them.

In the coop, I have a silver penciled partridge rock and a black australorp brooding. The BA will move from her corner if a more dominant chicken comes in and tells her to move, so the other chicken can lay. The BA will then move back to the nest and sit any eggs.

The banty, on the other hand, will sit tight come hail or high water, leaving ONLY for a moment in the morning to grab a drink, a quick bite, and comes right back.

My silver pencileds have been FANTASTIC as broodies, and spend most of their time that way, are very hard to break, and sit very tight, no matter what.

My question is this ... I've given about half the eggs to each. I think the banty has 6 and the BA has 5 (I couldn't quite decide so I forgot who has how many exactly).

I am not sure if the BA will sit until the eggs hatch. She's been broody for about a week before I put the eggs under her, and she's never been broody before, and she doesn't object too much to being moved.

If she DOES move off the eggs ... what I want to know is, should I put them under the banty? Or will having too many eggs be too difficult for the banty and put them all at risk of chilling?

Edited to add: all of the eggs are almost bantam-sized (just a little larger) ... they are silkies and golden seabrights. (That probably factors in, LOL, so I thought I should add the info.)

I just want to be immediately prepared if that should happen, since I suspect it might before the full period is up.

Thanks!!!

trish

 

[miss_thenorth]

I had a bantam set on 10 eggs, three of which were standard size. All but three hatched. Out of the three that didn;t hatch, two were infertile (i didn;t candle), and one didn't hatch all the way out. So I guess I'm saying that a banty can set on 11 eggs, if she needs to. Unfortunately, only two survived. I'm still trying to figure out what happened.

Good Luck!

 

[GoodEgg]

Thank you!

There are actually 9 eggs ... I know it's silly, but I didn't count at first and I wasn't sure after I had divided them up.

This morning, the standard hen was sitting on all the ones I gave her except one had gotten out too far. She was also sitting on about 9 standard eggs that got slipped in.

I gave her back the one that slipped out, and took another of the "good" ones and gave to the banty.

I think I'll just give all 9 to the banty after all, and let the austalorp have golf balls again. I think she moves a bit to let the others lay, and she just can't keep up with the eggs too well. It's her first time being broody too.

The banty seems to know a lot better what she's doing, and no one else wants that "spot" where she's setting. So it's better to give them all to her, I'm thinking, if she can handle so many.

I'm so excited though. I really WANTED chicks with mama hens, but my only certainly fertile eggs are banty mutts and I just didn't want to have those. And I really wanted silkies anyway, so I hope these hatch. And the golden seabrights, for the person who gave them to me.

trish