Broody hen beak is turning black

[SqueakyBee]

Hello all,

I have a hen that is broody however we just had a hen broody with 22 eggs and do not want anymore chicks! This hen was the “surrogate” for the previous hen (she would sit on her eggs while she took a break). I have been taking her eggs daily and today when I did I noticed her beak is turning black, is this normal? Also, when I take her eggs I candle them to make sure they are still just eggs, but I must have missed an egg and today I noticed the black dot and some veins so I took it right back to her and put it under her.

The beak thing is bothering me though. Not sure if I just did not pay attention to it before and it is normal?

Thank you in advance for your knowledge on this,
Squeak

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Hello all,

I have a hen that is broody however we just had a hen broody with 22 eggs and do not want anymore chicks! This hen was the “surrogate” for the previous hen (she would sit on her eggs while she took a break). I have been taking her eggs daily and today when I did I noticed her beak is turning black, is this normal? Also, when I take her eggs I candle them to make sure they are still just eggs, but I must have missed an egg and today I noticed the black dot and some veins so I took it right back to her and put it under her.

The beak thing is bothering me though. Not sure if I just did not pay attention to it before and it is normal?

Thank you in advance for your knowledge on this,
Squeak

My pullets’ beaks started adding dark coloration around the time that their faces started turning red, but they were younger than your backup broody. Maybe just a coincidence?

And meanwhile, do consider that you don’t have to keep the one fertilized egg. If your flock is back on the desired size/ growth path, please don’t let sentiment for one only potential chick to derail everything, including keeping this hen in an extended broody state for no positive reason.

 

[SqueakyBee]

My pullets’ beaks started adding dark coloration around the time that their faces started turning red, but they were younger than your backup broody. Maybe just a coincidence?

And meanwhile, do consider that you don’t have to keep the one fertilized egg. If your flock is back on the desired size/ growth path, please don’t let sentiment for one only potential chick to derail everything, including keeping this hen in an extended broody state for no positive reason.

Thank you so much