Broody chicken, need advice!

[Spinksy]

My Buff O has become broody. We've ordered a fertilized egg for her but it won't be here for a week. Do we leave her with her unfertilized egg for the time being, or remove it?

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Leave her with it. How many eggs did you get her?

 

[Spinksy]

Just one egg as we have 15 babies coming next month.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

You should've gotten her at least three. Never give a hen only one egg; it's good for there to be more than one chick when they hatch, and also ensures that you will get at least one chick period. The chances that one shipped egg will hatch is not extremely likely.

 

[rebrascora]

I would forget about the hatching egg and just keep her happy with a fake egg until the chicks arrive and then graft them onto her and let her do the work of raising them. I'm not really sure I see the point of giving her just one. If you are getting it through the mail there is a reasonable chance that it will be scrambled. If she does hatch it then it may be too far ahead of the chicks you ordered to graft them onto her as siblings.... some hens are more maternal than others and will accept chicks of any age, so you might be lucky.....it seems like such a waste giving her just one fertile egg.

 

[Spinksy]

Ok I'm going to look into cancelling the egg order. This is our first girl to become broody, we're new to this so thanks so much for the input. Greatly appreciated! We're less concerned now as shes been mixing with the other girls, eating and drinking etc when we've taken the eggs away. We'll just keep an eye on her and see how things progress. Thanks again!

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Ok I'm going to look into cancelling the egg order. This is our first girl to become broody, we're new to this so thanks so much for the input. Greatly appreciated! We're less concerned now as shes been mixing with the other girls, eating and drinking etc when we've taken the eggs away. We'll just keep an eye on her and see how things progress. Thanks again!

Sure, any time! Glad we could help.

 

[rebrascora]

If she has given up so easily then my feeling would be that she was not truly committed to being broody anyway. A properly broody hen will sit in the nest regardless of whether there are eggs under her or not and usually it takes 2 or 3 days in a wire bottomed cage chocked up on bricks with no bedding and air flow underneath them, to break them.
Good luck with the chicks when they arrive.