Broody Brahma hatching eggs

[Yanisay]

When went down to mark the eggs I saw that my hen wasn't sitting on the eggs. She wasn't even near the nest box. I felt a few and they were cold. I swear! She was broody! She sat on the eggs without moving. She would growl at me and try to peck my hand when I got to close. But now she could care less. Well, I guess this thread is moot now.

She was probably laying an egg and not being broody(very common for chickens to peck at you even when they are only laying an egg)I had a few chickens act like that,if she didn’t get back to the egg feel free to collect them.just remember to keep a few eggs just in case for next week

 

[Ridgerunner]

My test to see of a hen is truly broody enough to deserve eggs is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of sleeping in her normal spot. I don't care how she acts during the day, all any of that stuff means is that she might possibly be. Two consecutive nights, not just one.

 

[ssferret]

I had already taken the eggs out after I noticed they were cold. I never thought about the possibility of them possibly being ok if they feel cold. Next time I'll definitely know better.

When I checked everyone yesterday the middle nest box was still empty and the other 2 had laying hens but not broody and neither of those were the said broody hen from earlier. I'm going to check again today.

 

[Love Broody Hens]

My Brahmas are 2 years old and this is only my third hen to become broody. This time I thought I would let her hatch them herself hoping not all her motherly behaviors were bred out especially since she's from a hatchery.

Anyway, it was a few days after she started incubatint when we finally saw how many eggs there were. My eyes almost popped out when we counted around 10 EGGS! We have 12 hens and I guess my husband hadn't gathered eggs for a couple of days and that nest box must be a definite favorite of theirs.

I know 10 eggs are definitely too, too many for her. Also this would be her very first time at hatching and who knows how it will go. Knowing all that how many eggs would she possibly be able to handle? I don't want to remove eggs and still leave her with to many or too few because I don't know any better.

I also need to know how to make sure my hen will stay healthy. A year ago one one of my favorite hens got broody that I didn't realize wasn't eating. I let her feathers full me. I lost her about a week after she stopped being broody. I'm so afraid of losing this one too.

Now for the me-overly-thinking question. Has anyone tried to incubate eggs after a hen started the incubation cycle or is that even feasible?

Thanks all!

Hi, Ive had a few broody hens hatch chicks for me and never lost one. The trick is to move her to a safe private area, not too bright and away form the other chickens. where she will feel safe.I use my tack room. Then move her feed and water to with in a foot or so from her nest. Otherwise she may starve herself and even get dehydrated. If she is pooping in the nest you will need to clean it out and may need to move her off the nest for a few minutes every day till she figures out it is safe to do a quick "eat drink poop run. If she is a big hen she may do fine with 10 eggs and you should know they may not all hatch. Also it can take a long time from the first chick til the last is hatched. I don't mess with unhatched eggs for at least 24 hours. When the time comes have your chick feeder full and ready and a good shallow water dish. Both very close to the nest. Be aware she may not move the chicks off the nest and back out side for a few days. Then you just need to watch that the other chickens don't give her or the chicks a hard time. After that it is all fun and games and lots of pictures.

 

[ssferret]

Funny you just replied. That Brahma stopped being broody and nothing came of it but I also had been incubating eggs.

When a friend of my cousin's was looking for a free run of brahma I started incubating 18 eggs, the largest batch I've ever done. I was shocked that only 7 we're actually fertilized.

Since I had 12 hens I knew that the likely problem was my 2 yo rooster. He was sick and it took him a while to get better but once he did he decided to make up for lost time. (A story for another post)

It then took only 2 weeks before there was another broody hen. She was sitting on 4 eggs. I decided to leave her alone and marked the eggs. A couple of days later there were 6 more. I marked them because they weren't far behind the other 4.

Three days later there were 2 more broodies. (Wow, Caspian most have hit the broody button or something.) Not only were all 3 nest boxes occupied, there was no way I could handle that many chicks. I felt bad but I had to take the eggs from the recent broodies. Luckily they never went back back.

Now it's been a week and my original broody is still on those 10 eggs. I remove the unmarked eggs the other girls decide to donate daily. She doesn't like it but so far only growls.

I can't wait for the hatching (if everything goes well). I've never had one of my girls hatch eggs before. This is exciting!