Broody Hen Question

[ArizonaNessa]

I myself have never had my hens hatch their eggs but I have really gotten into the standard cochins and they make super moms. Anyway I was just thinking to myself after reading all about bators and such. How can a chicken do something that turns out to be so complicated for us for example temp and humidity control. You just can't make me believe that a chickens butt is better at it than a precise machine. I asked my mother this question and she told me that a broody hen will actually find water puddles and such and wet their under feathers a little before they sit on the eggs. Is that true or did they just have strange chickens and if I decide to allow my cochin to sit the eggs should I make water available that she can stand in? Just curious.

 

[speckledhen]

Broodies pluck their breast feathers so their moist skin is against the eggs, hence humidity control. Their body temps are about 102, so a couple of degrees less than that at egg level. It's the perfect system, no temp fluctuations under her, no power outages, etc. Mine never wet their feathers, so I have no idea where that came from.

 

[EricShane]

well, Ive never heard about the water thing..

I just figure the humidity is from the birds sweat.

 

[chicknmania]

I have never seen our hens do that. And we have had our hens hatch quite a few chicks. I would think it would be more humidity from their warm, moist underbody. I mean, just the natural bsligtht moisture and humidity a body will generate dunno, theY MIGHT sit in puddles...but I kinda doubt it.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

Yeah I guess if your hen has a power outage that would not be such a cool thing