Broody due 12/29, anyone else??? It's not looking good :-(

[Thortherooster]

i wish....

 

[justmeandtheflock]

I went out a little while ago to lock the birds in for the night and Bunny had knocked over her nest and the egg was sitting on the wire cold

She was in the corner of the cage looking stressed. I held the egg up to the heat lamp to warm it up while she had her scratch and took a peek with my light but I couldn't make out an air cell, the whole egg looked dark. I held it to my ear and I didn't hear any peeping so if it is still alive I don;t think it broke through the air cell. Bunny settled back down on the egg so I guess only time will tell. If this poor dird doesn;t get a chick out of this I don;t know what I am going to do for her

 

[JestersEye]

Have you had any further developments with your broody? Are you still waiting to see if her egg hatches, or have you lost hope?

My girl is still sitting on her two eggs, so I moved her into a "broody pen" to keep her and any chicks safe and warm. At least now, she can't be disturbed by the other chickens, and will always have access to her own water and food, as well as a heat light. I'm desperately hoping that at least one of the eggs hatches for her. I'm afraid she will be terribly disappointed if she doesn't get to be a mommy soon!

 

[justmeandtheflock]

I took her last egg away 2 days ago. She kept knocking over the nest so I brought the egg inside to see if it was still good and it was starting to stink. I did the float test with no movement so I poked a little hole in the top and I could see yolk so it wasn't developing. It was a green egg so hard to see into. She is still broody but seems less so. She was on the roost one night but she stays inside with the big chicks and keeps going back into the nest box. She looks pretty bad to me so I am hoping she snaps out of this soon. I don't know if it was my rooster not doing his job or if she just didn't keep them warm enough. She was pretty dedicated so who knows. If she goes broody again I will give he another shot.

Hopefully your broody has better luck

 

[JestersEye]

Awww, I'm sorry to hear that your girl has had such bad luck. I hope she gets over her disappointment.

My hen has been on that nest for just over three weeks nonstop, so I'm still hopeful that at least one of her eggs will hatch. I candled them about a week ago, and they seemed to be developing. One, in particular, definately showed some chick movements, but it look like it still had some time to go yet.

I am visiting my brother's family in MD for a few days, so I'm really hoping to find some good news when I get home this weekend. That's why I made sure to set her up in her own pen, just in case. She even let me lift her nest box (with her in it), and stayed put during and after the move. Now that's dedication!

 

[JestersEye]

Update on my broody hen...

Sky has continued to sit on the three eggs I left under her, but I'm sure they are all dead in their shells. I was away for the New Year's weekend, and just got back tonight. I went to check her in her pen to see if there was any progress, but candling showed no movements in any of the eggs. They are starting to smell rotten, also.

I can't figure out why they died since she was so persistent in sitting on them. I've decided to bring her in the house tomorrow morning and setting her nest box inside a large dog crate. I don't expect her to give up on being broody until she has some chicks to show for her efforts.

I'm expecting a shipment of hatching eggs from Gabbard Farms tomorrow or the next day, since they were shipped on Saturday. I plan to incubate some and put some under Sky. One way or the other, she should have some chicks in a few weeks, if all goes well. At least she won't have to expend so much energy trying to keep herself warm in this cold weather, while she's in the house. I will also be able to offer her more tasty treats to help keep her strength up.

I've never known a hen so determined to be a mommy. I have to do whatever I can to help her succeed, and she will be helping me hatch the eggs I wanted, anyway. Please wish us luck with our plans to make baby chicks!

 

[AngieChick]

Have you considered getting the poor dear some day olds to sneak under her? I wonder if being broody for so long may be a bit rough on her system?

 

[justmeandtheflock]

Awe, I'm sorry your broody's baby eggies didn't make it

Hopefully she will have better luck this round. What kind of eggs are you getting?

My broody seems to be slowly coming out of it. She still goes in the nest box sometimes but stays out when take her out. I had to bring her inside a few night becuase she stayed out there when the rest of the flock went in. My rooster was crowing like crazy trying to get her to come in but she wouldn't go by her self. Last night I found her on the roost so she is making progress. She was just in too poor of shape for me to let her sit again right now.

She fattens back up and goes broody again in another 2 or 3 months.


Anyone elses broody hatch and yet???

 

[JestersEye]

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I don't know how feasible it would be to get day old chicks shipped to me in this cold weather, and I don't know anyone local who has any right now.

I found a fully formed dead chick near my hen this morning. I'm sure it was dead from candling it last night (I had been planning to remove the eggs today when I moved her inside). Either she got tired of waiting and tried to help the chick out, or the shell finally just broke open under her weight. I discarded all three eggs and cleaned out the nest box, and then brought Sky in the house and set her up in a large dog crate. She still has her next box to sleep in, even though she's only sitting on fake eggs at the moment.

I did get her to eat some oatmeal fortified with Nutri-drench and Exact hand feeding formula, with an egg mixed in for extra protein. She's much thinner than she used to be, and her belly is completely bald from plucking her feathers out. I'm going to start giving her a hard boiled egg yolk each day, as well. Somehow, I have to make sure she eats enough. At least having her in the house makes that a lot easier to manage.

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I had ordered Blue Laced Andalusians to improve the quality of my existing flock, but the supplier's birds have stopped laying for the season. Instead, she is sending some more Blue Orpington eggs, like the three I hatched from her in October. Those chicks (one cockeral and two pullets) are so friendly, they have quickly become my favorites for personality and beauty! I guess I'll just have to order those Laced Andy eggs in the spring!

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Wow, these poor broodies really go through an ordeal when they want to hatch out chicks, huh? It's such a shame when they go through it all for nothing!

I don't know about you, but I'm starting to realize that 40 weeks of internal incubation sure beats sitting in one place, starving yourself for 3 or more weeks! I'm happy to be a mammal!

 

[AngieChick]

Oh good, I'm so glad you brought her in & are babying her. That should be a big help for her body to recover.

I didn't notice your location until you just posted, you are right in that it would be hard to ship to your area this time of year. We PNW peeps get a bit spoiled to our (relatively) mild winters and tend to forget how harsh winters can be outside of our little bubble.