Broody Hen on Eggs

[Playhousechicks]

I have a question. I have a broody Bantam who has been sitting on 3 hatching eggs we purchased and placed under her. I went out this evening and she was off of these 3 eggs and sitting in another box on eggs that had been laid by our other hens. The three hatching eggs were not warm like they usually are sitting under her. I pulled out the other eggs and put her back on the hatching eggs. We marked the hatching eggs so we would know which to keep in the box and which ones were from our laying hens. I had left the second laying box in for the laying hens. Should I take out the second box and make everyone lay in the box with the hatching eggs? More importantly, do you think the hatching eggs are still viable since she had been off of them long enough for them to cool? Thanks for your help.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

This happens to me sometimes. Most of my hens are very good about going back to their eggs, but I have one hen (who's sitting now, coincidentally) who nest hops. Usually I find her sitting on nothing, or one or two eggs while her pile of eggs is getting cold. I guess she gets confused, I dunno. Anyway, I've taken to making her sit in her own quarters, which is a medium sized dog kennel in the coop. She has room to get up and move around, poop (which I scoop everyday, EW) and she's got her own food and water. No one can bother her (which is sometimes why they move in the first place, they get bullied from the nest by a more dominant hen), which doesn't lead to broken eggs or eggs developing at different stages because they weren't all set the same time. So, to answer that question, no, don't let the other hens use her box
Marking the eggs is a great idea. Use a Sharpie, pencil wears off. And I think your eggs will be fine. I've seriously messed some of my hatches up and they've still hatched. Yours may be a little delayed, but I'd let them keep on cooking. Good luck!

 

[PineSummit]

The eggs may or may not be viable. It depends on how long she was off of the eggs, what day the eggs are on, how warm it is outside, etc. If she was off of them for a few hours on a warm day, they should be fine. However, if it's cooler and she was off them all day, they may no longer be viable.

When I get a broody to hatch eggs, I usually put her in a old dog cage. I let her out once a day to into the run to do her business and then make sure she goes back into the cage, which I then lock. (The cage has food and water in it.) This way you know that she is sitting on the right eggs.

It may seem like a lot of work, but once you incorporate it into your routine, it's relatively easy.

I hope that helps.

 

[Playhousechicks]

I love the idea of a dog cage. Does it matter if it is a plastic cage vs. a wire cage? We have both. I let the girls out this morning and our broody hen came out to do her business and another hen went into her hatching eggs box so it totally makes sense to put our little momma in a space by herself. We are going to continue to let her set and hope for the best. We have been chicken owners for less than a year so this is all new to us. We so appreciate your response and help. Many thanks!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I would use whichever is easiest to clean

 

[Playhousechicks]

Our broody hen is in the dog kennel. We have one egg that we know is starting to hatch. My daughter is a nervous gal and wants to pull the egg out and put it in the incubator to finish hatching. While watching our little broody bantam, she pecked at the egg a few times. Is this a sign that we need to pull out the egg? The little yet to come through chick was chirping when momma was pecking at the egg. I think we should let things be but my daughter thinks otherwise. Help please! This is our first experience with this.

Thanks so much!