Broody Cochin - Isn't Good Momma

[ourlittleflock]

first let me say - I will never give my broody eggs I want to kept again - I will rely on my brinsea for the hatching.. I wanted showgirls and especially a black showgirl for a breeding project

I had 11 showgirls eggs that were shipped from TX (SQ line).. 9x of which started developing and for 2 weeks I left them in the incubator to give them a good start.. Then I moved them to 2 different broody 5x to a white showgirl and 4x to a black cochin...

Showgirl - eggs (knock on wood) are hatching I see 4 of her 5 pipped..

Now for the black cochin
1x egg hatched - she throw this baby out and made him bleed LUCKY I find him before getting to cold... I rush it to the heat lamp and in about 30 minutes - he was peeping much louder..
1x egg was quitter
1x she broke the egg so this one was shrinked wrapped <<HE WAS A BLACK SG

1x just never hatched - yolk was asborb - I believe she let him get cold <<HE WAS A BLACK SG

Needless to say - she won't be sitting on anymore eggs for me unless they are just our farm eggs...

 

[kycklingmamma]

I am sorry about your eggs and broody gone mad..my cochin I had a few years ago sat on the eggs really good, but once they started hatching she killed them one by one..I managed to rescue two of them, both roosters..we still have one, the other was given away.
I don't know why they do that though..

 

[happydog]

I had a very dedicated goose setting on some eggs. They never hatched and she wouldn't leave the nest. So finally I gave her some newly hatched ducklings hoping she'd raise them for me and save me the trouble and mess.

One by one they died or vanished. The last one I had to fish out of the pond. She was a fantastic broody, but an awful mother. Like you said, next time I'll do it myself instead of relying on a broody.

I think the moral of the story is never try something new with expensive eggs. Sorry about your eggs.

 

[lockedhearts]

Cochins are generally great mothers. I had several and 3 went broody and were first time moms and did great.

 

[spiritdance]

was she full size or bantum? My bantum cochin broody is a fantastic mother! I think she would raise a squirrel if you put it in her nest. Right now she's raising 3 TSC silkies for me and keeps trying to steal the three I gave to my Silkie broody (also a fantastic mother). I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to set expensive eggs under either one of them because they have demonstrated their mothering abilities, so maybe the lesson should be "only set expensive eggs under a proven broody".

 

[ourlittleflock]

she was a bantam - she had 1x egg from my mottled cochin and this morning that egg was frozen.... So needless to say when i candled the egg - it was tossed into the woods and out of the nest box she went... I shut the door she sat still for a minute and then runned for the run area... She was so happy to be free..... Good for her, BAD for me...

unfortunately the 1x I rescued didn't survive

BUT This morning I have 3 lovely SG hatch under my white showgirl... and 1x is black...

LESSON TO BE LEARNED
1) "never try something new with expensive eggs"
OR if you know from the past
2) "only set expensive eggs under a proven broody".