Broody Hen Thread!

[calichicken]

I had to break my 2nd broody who I didn't have chicks or eggs for.

Feel bad for her but don't want her sitting on infertile eggs forever and getting unhealthy.

I know we feel so bad having to do it but we want our girls to be healthy

 

[redpennies15]

This is often even done without it being intended as well. If you think about a commercial chick business where eggs are incubated artificially and NEVER hatched naturally, those hens with the least brooding instinct will have far more off spring because they are not taking several months off of laying each year to try to brood. Eggs are simply collected and placed in an incubator and those hens without broodiness are more likely to pass on their genetics.

I actually have a strange little chicken that came from highly productive/commercial strains of chickens but for some reason is an incredibly broody hen. She broods several times a year starting at less than 6 months old.

That makes sense. Thanks!

 

[sonderah]

Well poop! Looks like my attempt to move a broody has failed, but managed to break her. Now I have shipped eggs coming next week, & no broody hen! :/ I have an incubator, but have NEVER had any luck hatching shipped eggs. 1 has hatched out of about 30-40 shipped eggs, & it died a few days later. Oh well, we live & we learn. Lol Both of my silkies r still raising chicks, so no luck on them going broody.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I think you might find similar results with a Broody and shipped eggs. All my shipped that were under my broody were duds. She kicked them out from under her in a matter of days. Eggtopsy showed yellow watery eggs-no development. And one I couldn't get the air sack to reattach so didn't even put under her. If you can drive to local breeders and pick them up yourself. That way you can be certain of their handling.

 

[Back2Roots]

Quote:
That's a shame. But on the bright side, she's no longer broody, so you'll be getting eggs from her again. If your hatching eggs are from a hatchery and aren't coming until next week, is there any chance you can cancel your order?

 

[sweetbeak]

My girl just hatched 7 eggs she's been sitting on, and all arrived this morning on day 21, they are all different colors. So cute.

 

[luvmypets]

Congrats!

 

[barkinghills]

I have my big partridge cochin girl sitting on eggs, my first try at working with a broody hen. I candled them at 10 days and was very disappointed that I saw veins in only 4 out of 15. A lot of the eggs are from very young hens, so apparently they were not fertile. I removed all except for the 4 with veins (the rest were simply clear, nobody home).

Unfortunately at day 15 my daughter forgot to put broody back after letting her out for some free time. It was about 89-90 degrees outside, but sadly broody was off the eggs for 1-2 hours. As soon as we let her back in she went right on to her eggs.

We candled last night as 17 days and saw dark masses with clear air cells. No veins were noticeable. Did the chicks die since we saw no veins, or are they eggs just full of chick? It will be 20 days on Monday….

Any thoughts?

 

[StarMeKritten]

I have my big partridge cochin girl sitting on eggs, my first try at working with a broody hen.  I candled them at 10 days and was very disappointed that I saw veins in only 4 out of 15.  A lot of the eggs are from very young hens, so apparently they were not fertile.  I removed all except for the 4 with veins (the rest were simply clear, nobody home).

Unfortunately at day 15 my daughter forgot to put broody back after letting her out for some free time.  It was about 89-90 degrees outside, but sadly broody was off the eggs for 1-2 hours.  As soon as we let her back in she went right on to her eggs.

We candled last night as 17 days and saw dark masses with clear air cells.  No veins were noticeable.  Did the chicks die since we saw no veins, or are they eggs just full of chick?  It will be 20 days on Monday….

Any thoughts?  

1-2 hours at 90 degrees probably won't hurt them. By day 17, there's usually not much to see when candling because the chicks are taking up so much space in the egg. At this point all you can do is wait. At least it's only a couple more days. I think you'll get to see some cute fluffy babies soon though! Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[Penny Hen]

I have my big partridge cochin girl sitting on eggs, my first try at working with a broody hen. I candled them at 10 days and was very disappointed that I saw veins in only 4 out of 15. A lot of the eggs are from very young hens, so apparently they were not fertile. I removed all except for the 4 with veins (the rest were simply clear, nobody home).

Unfortunately at day 15 my daughter forgot to put broody back after letting her out for some free time. It was about 89-90 degrees outside, but sadly broody was off the eggs for 1-2 hours. As soon as we let her back in she went right on to her eggs.

We candled last night as 17 days and saw dark masses with clear air cells. No veins were noticeable. Did the chicks die since we saw no veins, or are they eggs just full of chick? It will be 20 days on Monday….

Any thoughts?

By this time the eggs are full of chick. You can't make out the veins any longer. I think they are going to be alright. At most it only slowed them. They may take an extra day to hatch.