Broody Hen Thread!

[16 paws]

Congratulations Dani4Hedgies on the new chicks, and to 16paws for the return to work! It's always nice to work at something you enjoy doing and having good people to work for is a sweet bonus.

Yes, it was really strange. One day I went out to collect eggs in the late afternoon as we had been gone all day and to my surprise all 13 hens had laid. It was a first. Those eggs were piled up in the nesting box like a pyramid. The next day I found Lil'Girl happily sitting on 6 eggs and 2 other hens doing the broody cluck. I cannot help but wonder if that egg perfecta didn't somehow set them all off. I left three eggs under Lil'Girl and went to work trying to find OEGB eggs for her to incubate. The closest thing I could find were Serama and Mottled Cochin Bantam eggs and I would have had to travel for a half a day to get them and that wasn't going to happen. I remembered that I'd seen that one of our Amish neighbors had chickens roaming around that looked like OEGB and dashed down to talk to him. He'd had somebody give him a rooster with the request to raise fighting birds for him and the Amish guy had refused (good for him!) The rooster stayed though so the majority of his birds were OEGB with maybe some other genes thrown in but he didn't know for sure.

Well that was close enough for me to try. He gave me 8 eggs which Lil'Girl has sloppily been trying to hatch for the last two weeks.

If the little devils hatch and are OEGBs our friends get first pick of them. If they aren't what they are looking for or decide that they don't want them then I guess I got more chickens. LOL.

This is starting to sound like the Christmas story. There is almost no room at the inn and in the meantime, two more BO hens are roaming around tuuk tuuk tuuking away.

Cant wait to see what happens

Is Lilgirl a BO?

 

[16 paws]

Congratulations Dani4Hedgies on the new chicks, and to 16paws for the return to work! It's always nice to work at something you enjoy doing and having good people to work for is a sweet bonus.

Yes, it was really strange. One day I went out to collect eggs in the late afternoon as we had been gone all day and to my surprise all 13 hens had laid. It was a first. Those eggs were piled up in the nesting box like a pyramid. The next day I found Lil'Girl happily sitting on 6 eggs and 2 other hens doing the broody cluck. I cannot help but wonder if that egg perfecta didn't somehow set them all off. I left three eggs under Lil'Girl and went to work trying to find OEGB eggs for her to incubate. The closest thing I could find were Serama and Mottled Cochin Bantam eggs and I would have had to travel for a half a day to get them and that wasn't going to happen. I remembered that I'd seen that one of our Amish neighbors had chickens roaming around that looked like OEGB and dashed down to talk to him. He'd had somebody give him a rooster with the request to raise fighting birds for him and the Amish guy had refused (good for him!) The rooster stayed though so the majority of his birds were OEGB with maybe some other genes thrown in but he didn't know for sure.

Well that was close enough for me to try. He gave me 8 eggs which Lil'Girl has sloppily been trying to hatch for the last two weeks.

If the little devils hatch and are OEGBs our friends get first pick of them. If they aren't what they are looking for or decide that they don't want them then I guess I got more chickens. LOL.

This is starting to sound like the Christmas story. There is almost no room at the inn and in the meantime, two more BO hens are roaming around tuuk tuuk tuuking away.

Cant wait to see what happens

When are the eggs supposed to hatch? Is Lil'Girl a BO?

 

[microchick]

Yep, 100% BO.

I'm tentatively thinking the first part of next week. The three eggs I left under her from our flock are due on Tuesday/Wednesday. When I candled the donated eggs they looked to be pretty much in time with my own eggs....I hope. The eggs they gave me were swiped from under their own broody hen-they left one under her so she would stay broody. They are so funny, bless them, and wanted so badly to help me out especially when they learned that I was trying to repay a blessing.

I'm planning to get the incubator fired up tho, just in case.

 

[windyhawk]

I am so new at this. Just started getting eggs in July and now a broody hen! She sat the nest all day yesterday in 90+ degree heat and all last night. We tried to take the eggs but she fought us off. I'm not about to put my hand in there again. My sweet hen is suddenly pretty hostile. Today I put water in the henhouse for her and we gave her a few figs because she will not get off the eggs. So she sits on two eggs. Now I am wondering if I should try to give her another egg or two - after all if she is going through all that work... Or will she lay a few more...?

 

[Selsley]

I am so new at this. Just started getting eggs in July and now a broody hen! She sat the nest all day yesterday in 90+ degree heat and all last night. We tried to take the eggs but she fought us off. I'm not about to put my hand in there again. My sweet hen is suddenly pretty hostile. Today I put water in the henhouse for her and we gave her a few figs because she will not get off the eggs. So she sits on two eggs. Now I am wondering if I should try to give her another egg or two - after all if she is going through all that work... Or will she lay a few more...?

put 6 under her if your eggs are fertile, as in shops we store our eggs pointy end up i i didnt read about the air sack being in the fat end till halfway through the sit, all eggs hatched fine, we just grabbed what eggs we had laying around which consisted of 3 eggs from our purest araucana, 1 from one with not a pea comb, (obvious cross) and one from our BO, the next day we slipped in another newly laid araucana egg,

im happy to say they are all doing fine at 6 weeks old, and the offspring from the cross araucana seems to have a proper pea comb,
mum started laying 2days ago and was pushing them off the front perch tonight and pecking at them, shes definately in the process of disowning them.
last i saw they were mostly on the back perch 14 inches behind the front one, i think mum has her favorites, as she was pecking over the one next to her.
problem is, the bantam is not allowed on the front perch and she doesnt like the chicks on the back one, so there was quite a disturbance, they have only been perching for 2 days, last night 3 sat on the edge of a nest box and it was there first time perching down for the night tonight.

funny thing was as mum was pushing them off the perch the other hens who were watching kept shuffling along to fill up the gap and force her closer to the side so there was no room for them to get back on.

our hen went broody about 6 weeks after laying her 1st egg too, if your eggs arent fertile, and you cant get fertile ones for her, try reading the thread on "how to break a broody hen"

 

[Honora]

Cute mama and baby!

Your hen is beautiful; she looks just like my broody! Mine is a bantam Orpington. Baby is adorable too.

 

[Honora]

Your hen is beautiful; she looks just like my broody! Mine is a bantam Orpington. Baby is adorable too.

I am talking to @Dani4Hedgies , sorry I quoted the wrong person!

 

[broodmother]

our broody has stopped hatching, a kind of disappointing turn out, we only have 2 alive, we had 4 and she squished two. i feel terrible! our next batch if we have anymore will be moved to a safer location. I got a surprise when i went down to the coop earlier, she had both out and about. Of course the rooster doesn't like them and that is given me fear but she is a very good mama, so i have some hope. I love seeing everyone's baby's!! I thought they would just sit in the spring! boy i was fooled! lol everyone's having baby's.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Thanks Honora Sapphire is English Blue Splash Orphent...heading home from work right now can't wait to see who else has hatched while I've been gone

 

[windyhawk]

put 6 under her if your eggs are fertile, as in shops we store our eggs pointy end up i i didnt read about the air sack being in the fat end till halfway through the sit, all eggs hatched fine, we just grabbed what eggs we had laying around which consisted of 3 eggs from our purest araucana, 1 from one with not a pea comb, (obvious cross) and one from our BO, the next day we slipped in another newly laid araucana egg,

im happy to say they are all doing fine at 6 weeks old, and the offspring from the cross araucana seems to have a proper pea comb,
mum started laying 2days ago and was pushing them off the front perch tonight and pecking at them, shes definately in the process of disowning them.
last i saw they were mostly on the back perch 14 inches behind the front one, i think mum has her favorites, as she was pecking over the one next to her.
problem is, the bantam is not allowed on the front perch and she doesnt like the chicks on the back one, so there was quite a disturbance, they have only been perching for 2 days, last night 3 sat on the edge of a nest box and it was there first time perching down for the night tonight.

funny thing was as mum was pushing them off the perch the other hens who were watching kept shuffling along to fill up the gap and force her closer to the side so there was no room for them to get back on.

our hen went broody about 6 weeks after laying her 1st egg too, if your eggs arent fertile, and you cant get fertile ones for her, try reading the thread on "how to break a broody hen"

I have some eggs from this AM on the counter. They have been in the 75 degree house since noon. Are they OK or should I wait for tomorrow's eggs? She went broody yesterday. Will she lay a few more herself?