Broody hen questions...

[chicken500]

Ok I have a mix hen between a bantam hen and a standard rooster and she is broody and these are my questions.

1)Will all the eggs hatch if she has 18 eggs?
2)Will she be able to hatch large brown eggs?
3)Ok she has 9 of her own eggs, 6 from bantam hens, and 3 large brown eggs, should I remove any eggs?
4)She is on day 3 so when will it be ok to candel the eggs?
5)Is it ok to touch the eggs? or pick them up?
6)How will I know there are no rotten eggs?
7)If you have any advice please tell me.

Please do answer my questions.

 

[katrinag]

18 eggs sounds a little much to me. I would remove some, but you can also just see how she does. I would wait till at least day 7 to candle, the huck the bad ones.

Make sure she has food and water close by.

 

[chicken500]

She covers them all very well, I'm just wooried they all won't get enough heat since some end up by her butt and under her wings.
How do I now which one is a bad egg?

 

[CBee]

Whenever you candle them on day 7 and the egg has no sign of growth, that's a pretty big indicator that it's a 'bad' egg.

Meat and blood spots also make a bad egg.

A lot of people wait until day 14 to throw out bad eggs, or sometimes later. But it sounds like you may want to throw out any clear ones earlier than that, if some are under her wing.

http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/Embryology/candling.shtml
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=119420

 

[scubagirl]

My littlest hen went broody first. but within a week 3 more followed so the stack of eggs plus more eggs got divided up among them.

I have 6 different breeds and pheasant eggs they are sitting on.

I never bothered candeling.

They move the eggs around from inside the circle to outside the circle heating them evenly, its very cool to watch.

My First Baby chick hatched today. A GLW/Partridge-Cochin. The rest should be hatching within the next week or two.

I found the baby chick on the floor of the coop I guesing she got pushed out or fell out of the nest box.

She/He is doing great I quickly got the brooder ready. Now were just waiting on company for him/her.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

That sounds like a lot of eggs for any hen to brood, but who knows? She may surprise us and get them all to hatch. And if not, then you'll know better how many she can handle the next time she goes broody.

I don't like to bother a broody with handling or candling her eggs, I just let them all alone and wait until she takes her hatched chicks out for their first outing. Sometimes a hen will push out extra or unwanted eggs, sometimes it's because somehow she knows they're duds.

I also don't like to disrupt a broody by taking her off her nest to eat/drink/poop. I think you can trust them to follow their instincts, to know just when to take their breaks and how long to time them. As long as food & water is easily available to them, they will find it when they need it.

Congratulations & best wishes to your broody & you. Let us know what happens in 18 days!

 

[chicken500]

I guess I'm still going to candel the eggs since I want to get rid of all rotten eggs right away! the last time I had a broody hen, 9/10 eggs were rotten and the last one was Sora the hen that is now broody.
Also another question how do I get rid of mites from her nest?

 

[katrinag]

You can sprinkle DE or sevin dust. I just picked up a bottle of Poultry Protector from farm&fleet not sure if it works.