Broody BBW Hen keeps crushing her eggs T.T

[mldoublee]

Hello!

I have a yearling BBW hen who is intent upon hatching her eggs. Let's put aside all the "what if's" in this instance regarding whether or not these eggs are actually fertile...

The current problem is that she's a broad-breasted breed, so she keeps squishing her eggs when she's trying to lay on them/ lay another egg. I feel so bad for her!

Does anyone have any advice?

My idea was to order a Purple seat cushion and stick that under the eggs since I have her in a controlled environment and separated from everyone else. I mean, their commercials involve dropping heavy things onto eggs on their mattresses without them breaking so...I guess we'll be putting that to the true test here. I'll let you know how that goes, lol.

 

[sourland]

A deep, bowl shaped, well padded nest might help, but generally they are just to big and clumsy to effectively hatch eggs.

 

[R2elk]

Hello!

I have a yearling BBW hen who is intent upon hatching her eggs. Let's put aside all the "what if's" in this instance regarding whether or not these eggs are actually fertile...

The current problem is that she's a broad-breasted breed, so she keeps squishing her eggs when she's trying to lay on them/ lay another egg. I feel so bad for her!

Does anyone have any advice?

My idea was to order a Purple seat cushion and stick that under the eggs since I have her in a controlled environment and separated from everyone else. I mean, their commercials involve dropping heavy things onto eggs on their mattresses without them breaking so...I guess we'll be putting that to the true test here. I'll let you know how that goes, lol.

Are you sure that the hen is crushing the eggs? I have had broody BBWs that were able to successfully hatch their eggs.

If your tom has access to the nest, my guess is that the tom is breaking the eggs when he is trying to breed the hen. Broken eggs are the least of what can happen during unwanted breeding attempts. Hens can get injured or even killed from it.

I personally will not allow a BB hen to go broody on a nest. While they can successfully hatch eggs, they are very poor mothers. They cannot move their feet and legs as delicately as a heritage hen. When an egg does hatch, they often end up killing the hatchling by stepping on it.

 

[R2elk]

The other issue is if she is getting insufficient calcium, the eggs could be very fragile.

 

[mldoublee]

Are you sure that the hen is crushing the eggs? I have had broody BBWs that were able to successfully hatch their eggs.

If your tom has access to the nest, my guess is that the tom is breaking the eggs when he is trying to breed the hen. Broken eggs are the least of what can happen during unwanted breeding attempts. Hens can get injured or even killed from it.

I personally will not allow a BB hen to go broody on a nest. While they can successfully hatch eggs, they are very poor mothers. They cannot move their feet and legs as delicately as a heritage hen. When an egg does hatch, they often end up killing the hatchling by stepping on it.

Hi. Yes, I'm positive it's her. She's separated from everyone else, including the Tom. Nothing can get into where she is. She hasn't crushed ALL of her eggs, but it's definitely a trend.

She does also have a serious injury from what I'm guessing is an unwanted breeding attempt. I am treating that as well. I'm thankful that she is a highly tolerant bird and allows me to address the wound.

I am concerned about her...lack of agility. I'm glad you brought that up. This is the first time she's gone broody and since we are swimming in chicken eggs (for food purposes), we decided to "see how this goes" with very close monitoring. I don't have terribly high expectations.

 

[mldoublee]

The other issue is if she is getting insufficient calcium, the eggs could be very fragile.

I realized this morning that she's been eating All Flock and switched her to a Layer feed immediately in case this is part of the problem. I'm going to add a bowl of oyster shells as well right now. Thank you.