Broody Hen Thread!

[Altonafamily]

New mommy in the house!!!! Our first egg hatched this morning on day 20!!! 9 to go!!

 

[Altonafamily]

 

[Altonafamily]

 

[cwcochran1961]

Ok Hey yall! So we have 12 hens and two rooster. My RR Roo is very " good at his job" So I am assuming all of the eggs are probably Fertile due to the bare backs on all of my hens. ( poor babies) anyway, One of my Cochins has "gone to Settin" as my DH calls it. She started aroung the 29th of April and has been steadily on the nest ever since except for short gaps where she gets up to eat and drink. During this time, another one of my hens will jump in the nest. Any way. its now been 8 days. We started out with 7 eggs, I marked them. Then we had 5, now we are down to 4. Someone is getting these eggs and I cant figure out who. My question is? Does the hen know if there is something wrong with the egg and will discard it, like dogs or cats will do after a birth of kittens or puppies?
Also, I attempted to candle the eggs, But really could not tell what I was looking at?What should I bee looking for when candling the eggs? I really want some chicks
How can I tell if the eggs are fertile with out breaking them open of course?

 

[Altonafamily]

I have never hatched eggs until this spring and had no idea on what I was really doing. I did a google search on what to look for when candleing and came across some good pics that gave good ideas. Just make sure you are using a SUPER bright light to candle! I tried a flashlight and it just wasn't strong enough. Ended up using a 100watt house bulb and a cup with a hole cut into it to project the light to one spot.
I'm not sure why you are loosing eggs. I lost one that ended up cracking around day 7, but that was my only one out of 11. I hope you have some good luck and someone hatches for you!

 

[lawatt]

hello -- new to this thread and i have a question about managing multiple broodies with chicks in a single coop/run -- i've had FIVE of my twelve girls go broody so far this season, and here's where they're at:

#1 -- has two two-week old chicks running around in the coop with the rest of the laying flock, no troubles with the big girls picking on anyone.
#2 -- sat on 12 eggs that never hatched, after day 27 (yesterday) i got her four foster chicks, and they all seem to be settling in together well in their nestbox inside the main henhouse -- the box has a deep lip, so the babies haven't been able to hop out yet, & so far she's stayed put.
#3 -- has been sitting on her eggs inside an exclosure within the coop's run (she kept barging into other broodies' nests & breaking eggs, hence got separated) -- four of her chicks hatched this morning, and once they hatched she got up off the nest to show them how to eat etc -- leaving five unhatched eggs behind. i've put them underneath broody #2, since she's still on her nest, in case they might still hatch.
#4 -- eggs due to hatch sometime this weekend
#5 -- eggs due to hatch the following weekend.

so here's the question -- i'd been assuming (perhaps naively -- this is my first-ever hatch!) that the mamas would stick with their own babies & not be interested in the others -- but this evening one of broody #2's new hatched-today chicks got close to the the bars of their exclosure, and broody #2 either tried to attack it OR pull it through the bars toward her. I intervened and got the chick tucked back under #2, but now i'm concerned: with multiple moms and hatches all jumbled in the same space, are they likely to squabble or go after each others' chicks? i don't have the space to keep all five hatches separate (i do have one other exclosure, but there isn't room for five), and i'm hoping to keep them integrated with the rest of the layer flock so they don't have to be re-introduced later -- but i don't want them hurting each other?

any advice or suggestions from more experienced broody-keepers are welcomed!
thanks,
laura

 

[lawatt]

oh and just to add some visuals to my big wordy question:


#2 with one of her foster chicks



#3 with her four that hatched this morning

 

[NYRIR]

Hi everyone...cute pics

I have a Welsummer ,a BLRW, two silkie hens,a muscovy hen and a turkey hen on eggs right now, and 4 incubators full

Can I join??

 

[Jharper]

Hi everyone...cute pics I have a Welsummer ,a BLRW, two silkie hens,a muscovy hen and a turkey hen on eggs right now, and 4 incubators full

Can I join??

Sure can! I hope you have enough room for all those children! Haha

 

[NYRIR]

Lol....nope! I sell most...some we replace older layers with, and some are for the table. I just love hatching and watching the chicks....I'm an addict for sure!