Broody hen and planting eggs

[dancingbear]

A hen can sit on as many eggs as she can completely cover. 14 is a good size clutch. Some can cover more, but that's probably as many as she should have. Besides, if you add more, the timing will be all screwed up. They won't hatch at the same time, and you've already got a couple of days in between as it is.

Glad you have somebody to take the other eggs. As for them being "the good eggs", you don't really know if they are or not. I've had 3 sets of shipped eggs this year. I only had some hatch from the first one, the other two I got zero. My own hens' eggs, hatch pretty easily.

 

[CDennis]

My broody hen is getting close to hatch date (if there are indeed fertile eggs under her) problem is she picked a hay bail to nest on and that really concerns me since the chicks could fall of and mommy hen couldn't get them back up. So I think I need to move her (but I can't really move the entire bail to her new location. I think I am going to put her in a very large dog crate (for a mastiff) but since the hay bail will not fit would it be ok to just set up the dog crate w/ a flake of hay and her eggs? I assume I need to move her at night, any other pointers? I hate to move her at all, but I am really worried about the location she picked, this is my first broody hen so I was not really prepared. Thanks

 

[dancingbear]

Most of the time, the hen will stay on the nest until all or most of the eggs finish hatching. If she has a little depression, which I'd think she does or the eggs would've rolled off, they should be fine.

Once the chicks are ready to leave the nest, (normally this happens 24-48 hrs. after they hatch) she'll go with them, and they'll find a new place to stay at night. She won't try to return to the nest with them.

Chicks are so light and have such low mass, they survive falling from nests of quite a height with no problem, usually. They just lightly plop down, and bounce right back up on their feet like nothing happened. It there's a hard surface under the hay bale, you might want to spread some hay ot straw so they have a cushioned landing.

I wouldn't risk moving her now, she could abandon the eggs, even if she's in a crate with them. Some hens go psycho if you move them, and they don't recognize that the eggs are with them. They can injure themselves trying to get out to go back to the nest site, and eggs can get broken as she's charging around and trying to break out.

At this late date it's might be better to leave her to her own devices, cross your fingers and hope for the best. Check frequently for chicks that could fall out early. At this time of year, most places are warm enough they'd be fine until you could scoop them up and put them back. As long as there's nothing to come along and eat them, anyway.

I don't want to alarm you, but I've figured out that the frantic "PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP!!!!!" translates to:"I'M ALL ALONE COME AND EAT ME!!!"

It does help mom locate lost chicks, though. It helps me locate lost chicks, as well, so I can rescue them and put them back with mom.

 

[stuckinthecity]

Hi, we had this rooster in with these hens for about3-4 weeks. I tried hatching eggs and none were fertile. So I guess he was too young too, but look at the size of him!

 

[CDennis]

I didn't move her, but yesterday (22-23 days) there was a chunk of shell next to her. I don't see any chicks so I don't know if she cracked one or a chick hatched. Today that chunk of shell is gone, but there is another chunk that looks bloody (I am looking from a distance as I don't want to upset her. Do I have a problem? Or should I just wait it out and see what happens? I wasn't sure if the eggs she sat on were fertile or not.

 

[dancingbear]

Sounds like they're hatching! The chicks are probably under her, all snuggled in. Check the ground around her to be sure, but they're probably fine.