Broody hen ... how long will she sit there ?

[chameleon]

Okay, I bought 8 Australorp eggs and I just put them under her tonight, but they didn't seem to fit that well.

They are under her feathers, but not all of them seem to be touching her skin.

Hopefully she will move them under her or maybe there are too many ?

I had a bantam hen setting 11 eggs a couple of months ago. There always seemed to be at least one egg sticking out and I was worried that with them being rotated every time she turned them, most would get cold and die. I tried candling to remove any that were already dead, to save the rest, but I wasn't sure enough of what I was seeing to throw any out. A week and a half later, every single egg hatched and I'm so glad I didn't throw any out.

This is the only experience I've had with hatching and I may have just gotten really lucky, so hopefully you'll get better advice, but as long as the eggs are actually under her, I think they'll be ok. She might take a day or two to properly settle on them, but then she should do fine.

 

[RooChick]

Oh that's reassuring !

Well I'll see how she goes

 

[chameleon]

Oh that's reassuring !

Well I'll see how she goes

Let us know how it goes. It's so much fun watching them hatch and grow

 

[RooChick]

Out of the 8 eggs I started with, I'm now down to 5 eggs which are fertile / growing.

So today is day 20 and from what I could see, at least two chicks have hatched with possibly 3 more on the way !

I saw the first signs of a pip on these two eggs at about 6:30 this morning and by the time I got home from work at 5:00 they were out and chirping !

Gloria is still sitting on the nest waiting for all the eggs to hatch, but it seem as if she doesn't know what the chicks are ?

In particular, the black chick ... I have seen her peck it in the face when it tries to come out, but then it managed to get out from under her and she wouldn't let it back under. Is she rejecting the chick ? Or does she not recognise the chick as ... a chick ?
I lifted Gloria's wing up and slid the chick back under her and she was fine with that.

Just wondering if I need to intervene and raise them myself or will she get the hang of it ?

 

[RooChick]

Black chick:



White / Grey chick:

 

[chameleon]

Congratulations! It's so exciting watching them hatch

I've got another clutch hatching under my broody next week, I can't wait.
I have only hatched with a broody once before, so I don't have too much experience, but personally I would wait a little longer and see how it goes. My broody did peck at her chicks a little, but never agressively, and she never hurt them.
How is she preventing the chick from getting back in the nest? Is she trying to hurt it?
My broody stayed on the nest for about a day and a half waiting for them all to hatch, and didn't seem to pay too much attention to the ones that had already hatched. but once she got up and they all started moving around she was very protective of the ones that followed her. She basically ignored the ones that couldn't keep up, but accepted them all as soon as they got their strength up enough to follow her.
Hopefully you get some advice from someone with more experience, but otherwise I'd just keep an eye on them and give her some more time to adjust to being a mommy.
Good luck and post lots of pics

 

[RooChick]

Another 3 chicks hatched out !!!!!! So 5 in total

Gloria isn't rejecting them anymore either !

 

[chameleon]

Fantastic

Enjoy your new babies, they're adorable!

 

[aart]

Great!
My broody was a light brahma, love the looks and demeanor, but they are lousy layers.
Is your light sussex a good layer?

 

[RooChick]

I'm not really sure how well she lays as Gloria is only 8 months old, so she hadn't been laying very long before she went broody.

But my Speckled Sussex would lay about 3 eggs a week on average.

My Golden Laced Wyandotte is my best layer. She lays an egg for me almost every day !