Broody Hen Thread!

[chicksurreal]

If she accepts the change of nesting spots, then all will be well. Broodies are not interested in interaction with the flock while they brood. They are too deep into their trance and do not like disruption by others...they are loners who want to nest alone.

LofMc

So far, so good this morning. I went to check on her an she's sitting on the eggs and screeched at me to close the door when I peeked in. I put food and water near the door and will just leave her be. Thanks very much for all the information you bring to this thread and others! There's nothing like the voice of experience.

 

[suelon99]

Hi folks; I have been lurking

on this site for awhile getting educated but I am not sure how to go about getting a broody to hatch eggs. What I MEAN is that I have 8 hens laying intermittently(I raised them from chicks in an incubator last year), I have attentive roos

and I would like my broody hen to hatch some but I am trying to figure out how do I collect eggs to put under her? I mean, I sometimes get 1 egg a day or up to 5 in a typical day. Do I collect a bunch and stick them under her at once? If so, how do I keep them from going bad, or do I just add the newly laid eggs every day under her?
I am pretty wordy here so forgive my rambling; hope someone figures out what I am trying to say! Sue in WI.

 

[chicksurreal]

Hi folks; I have been lurking

on this site for awhile getting educated but I am not sure how to go about getting a broody to hatch eggs. What I MEAN is that I have 8 hens laying intermittently(I raised them from chicks in an incubator last year), I have attentive roos

and I would like my broody hen to hatch some but I am trying to figure out how do I collect eggs to put under her? I mean, I sometimes get 1 egg a day or up to 5 in a typical day. Do I collect a bunch and stick them under her at once? If so, how do I keep them from going bad, or do I just add the newly laid eggs every day under her?
I am pretty wordy here so forgive my rambling; hope someone figures out what I am trying to say! Sue in WI.

Hi Sue, welcome to BYC!

I was having just the opposite problem with my broody. All the girls like to lay in the nesting box where she wanted to brood, so she would take the eggs and put them under herself. I'm not really sure how many she has under her right now, but it was 10 at last count! That's why we moved her into another pen.

I don't think the eggs will go bad if you collect them as they lay and keep them until you have enough for her to sit on. We leave eggs sitting on the counter for a long time unwashed.

 

[aart]

Hi folks; I have been lurking

on this site for awhile getting educated but I am not sure how to go about getting a broody to hatch eggs. What I MEAN is that I have 8 hens laying intermittently(I raised them from chicks in an incubator last year), I have attentive roos

and I would like my broody hen to hatch some but I am trying to figure out how do I collect eggs to put under her? I mean, I sometimes get 1 egg a day or up to 5 in a typical day. Do I collect a bunch and stick them under her at once? If so, how do I keep them from going bad, or do I just add the newly laid eggs every day under her?
I am pretty wordy here so forgive my rambling; hope someone figures out what I am trying to say! Sue in WI.

Welcome!
Do you have a seriously broody hen?
Set up in a good spot to incubate?
Eggs can be gathered and stored at room temperature for a week or so then given to the broody hen all at once...the longer you store them the less likely for development.

 

[chicksurreal]

So, I just went back out to check on Nessie after about 2 hours and she was frantically running around, trying to get back to the other pen. I felt the eggs and they were slightly cool to the touch.

I think she forgot where she was and thought the nesting box was still in the other pen. I turned it so she could see the door and she ran back in there to sit. Does anyone have experience with the eggs getting cool and still hatching viable chicks? At most she was off the nest for two hours, but hopefully it was less than that.



ETA - I counted 11 eggs, I hope that isn't too many for her, she's a rather small Dark Cornish.

 

[aart]

I'd give it a wait and see....I had a broody do this when I sequestered her, but she settled back in after a while.
With your climate her being off the eggs for several hours probably won't kill them

 

[chicksurreal]

I'd give it a wait and see....I had a broody do this when I sequestered her, but she settled back in after a while.
With your climate her being off the eggs for several hours probably won't kill them

Thanks!

She's been really good about staying on the nest before this. I think she got disoriented when she couldn't see the door of the nesting box, poor girl. She did run right back in there once the door was visible to her.

 

[ShockValue]

My girl did that this week as well. Unknown how long she was off the eggs (I was at work all day) but they were ambient temp (~60-65) when I touched them. Once I showed her the eggs she plopped back down like nothing had happened.

I assume they are gonners... But I'm waiting a few days to candle and see if I can tell. Unfortunately they're really dark marans eggs so it might be hard to tell for a newbie like myself.

 

[JJSS89]

My girl did that this week as well. Unknown how long she was off the eggs (I was at work all day) but they were ambient temp (~60-65) when I touched them. Once I showed her the eggs she plopped back down like nothing had happened.

I assume they are gonners... But I'm waiting a few days to candle and see if I can tell. Unfortunately they're really dark marans eggs so it might be hard to tell for a newbie like myself.

You'd be surprised at what embryos will tolerate. There are aspects of a hen brooding eggs that us dorks with incubators can't fathom. Don't fiddle with them or her unless she sits for 25 days without chicks.

Wild birds are off their nests all the time and they seem to do alright.

 

[chicksurreal]

My girl did that this week as well. Unknown how long she was off the eggs (I was at work all day) but they were ambient temp (~60-65) when I touched them. Once I showed her the eggs she plopped back down like nothing had happened.

I assume they are gonners... But I'm waiting a few days to candle and see if I can tell. Unfortunately they're really dark marans eggs so it might be hard to tell for a newbie like myself.

Oh, I hope they're okay! I was reading a thread earlier where a hen was off the nest for 24 hours before they caught it and the eggs hatched in an incubator. I'm not sure where they lived, but that is amazing.

I'm trying hard to not give in to candling, I want to see, but I don't want to disturb her. Our eggs range from white to a medium brown, so I could probably see if I tried it. She's only about 5 days in anyway, so probably not much to see at this point.

Good luck with yours!