Broody hen not laying????

[Chknmom2014]

My bantam Ameracauna or EE, not sure which and it doesn't matter has gone broody. She has been on the nest for 9 days. I'm ok with it since I have a Silkie Roo and I'm excited to see the baby! Lol. My questions are:

1- Cinder has not laid at all since she started laying on the nest, is this normal? I'm concerned that she could get egg bound and I could lose her. She isn't eating much, pretty much only leaves the nest once a day and for a very short time to eat. I'm such an overprotective chicken mom that I am now having nightmares about my mini hen!

2- The other hens are laying in her nest too. She is now sitting on 6 eggs! Does that mean they are all fertile? I had to mark the eggs today so I can pull new ones every day to keep from incubating and chick growth, and she attacked me! Was kind of funny since she is so small, but she was serious, growling, pecking and coming at me feet first!

3- How long is incubation before you can candle to find out for sure if they are fertile and discard if they aren't? Will she stop sitting on the nest if none of them are fertile and I take them out?

I have only had chickens for a year and this is the first hen that has gone really broody. One of my leghorns did a few months back but she was easily broken of it and would leave the nest when I was persistent!


One of the other hens has just started laying in the last week, and the first 3 days there was blood on the eggs. There hasn't been since, but is this normal or indicative of a problem with my hen?

Sorry to have so many questions, but I know you all are a fantastic source of good info so you are my first stop when I'm worried!

Below are my hen that's broody and my handsome Dusty Roo! See why my curiosity got the best of me!?!

 

[paddock36]

When they are broody they don't lay. If the other hens lay eggs in her nest she will continue to sit on them. (Sometimes hens quit for no apparent reason) The other eggs are only fertile if the roo has mated with them and even then depending upon if your roo was successful there is still a possibility they may not be fertile. Only time can tell for sure. Usually by about 10 days you can candle and see veining if they are developing. Good luck trying to get an egg back from her to check. She's not going to give one up willingly.

 

[Chknmom2014]

When they are broody they don't lay.  If the other hens lay eggs in her nest she will continue to sit on them. (Sometimes hens quit for no apparent reason) The other eggs are only fertile if the roo has mated with them and even then depending upon if your roo was successful there is still a possibility they may not be fertile.  Only time can tell for sure.  Usually by about 10 days you can candle and see veining if they are developing.  Good luck trying to get an egg back from her to check.  She's not going to give one up willingly. 

Thanks for the info! That's what I thought, but wanted to make sure.... Found out about the fierce protectiveness of the eggs this morning, she kicked my @$$!

 

[paddock36]

I had a feeling that would happen.

 

[Chknmom2014]

So excited, of the 6 eggs she's incubating, 4 are fertile! I candled today since it has been 12 days of incubation, and actually saw the foot of Cinder's baby! The 2 I wasn't able to tell about were laid later (4 days ago) so I will leave her alone until next week and check them again. Will they discard eggs if they are not fertile/viable? This is all so exciting to me, but I'm definitely a newbie, so sorry for all the dumb questions!

 

[paddock36]

Sometimes they will push them out and/or abandon the nest with them in there. But sometimes they will also attract ants, so if you already know they are bad. I would toss them so you don't have a problem either way. Congrats on the eggs.

 

[Chknmom2014]

Thank you! So far so good, the 2 that I am unsure of were just laid in the nest a few days ago, but I will be keeping a close eye on them. I'm surprised she went broody, we were out of town and she started nesting a week before we got home or this wouldn't be happening, lol! It's an awesome experience though and I am excited to see babies! They are all from Silkie roo, dusty and bantam Americana Cinder, American game fowl(?) Koko and White leghorns, Wiley and Foghorn. Should be neat babies!

 

[Chknmom2014]

So our first baby hatched today! So exciting!!! Proud chicken mamma that I am I HAD TO SHARE PICTURES! Baby was still wet but I didn't want to disrupt mama bird Cinder any more today. She (positive thinking! Lol) hatched about 4:30. She is cinder the bantam EE and Dusty the Silkie Roo offspring. Has fuzzy feet! I think she will ultimately look like her dad. I've posted pictures of mom, dad and baby. She kicked my butt trying to get those couple pictures without touching baby, named Ella, so I was in perfect pecking distance! Lol

 

[BonRae67]

That is so awesome. Can't wait to see the fluffy butt. Congratulations!

 

[Chknmom2014]

Cinder the bantam EE and Dusty Roo the Silkie are proud to present the beautiful Ella! (Of course we have no idea what sex the baby is but I believe in the power of positive thinking! ). She is just gorgeous and has her daddy's fuzzy legs! So in love with this baby!