broody hen when of nest drinking

[centrarchid]

Hen brooding egg clutch gets off nest daily for food and water. When off nest she seems to be in overdrive for first 15 minutes or so feeding very aggressively. She also seems to drink a lot more than usual, sipping from every puddle she encounters and going repeatedly to waterer. Does anyone know if hen can transfer the water ingested back to clutch to aid in managing humidity? Wandering because humidity seems to be a big concern with incubators.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Honestly, I don't know. There was a very long thread on here a long while back that discussed humidity and hatching eggs. Someone put a hygrometer under a broody hen and measured the humidity during incubation. They reported the humidity was higher the last few days under the broody. I don't know how tight the controls were for that experiment and obviously one time does not make a statistically relevent number, so I cannot say for sure that it does happen.

It would not surprise me that the hen does make adjustments when she hears the chicks moving in the eggs, but I cannot say for sure.

 

[centrarchid]

Ridgerunner,

Do have link referenced above. I may try to repeat with next round of broody hens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

No, I wish I did. That thread is about 2 years old and a computer crash took away all my links. Best I can remember the topic was about humidity while incubating.

 

[secuono]

I remember reading that thread months ago, very long and very informative. But didn't save the link.
The mad dash for food/water and being aggressive is totally normal. I have no idea how they up the humidity under them, maybe poo or wet their feathers or the bare skin creates more humidity.

 

[centrarchid]

I priced several data logging hygrometers. Cheapest just under $600. Anyone have one I can borrow?

 

[Ridgerunner]

How about a hygrometer with a probe so you can put the probe in the nest and mount the reader somewhere nearby. Then just take reading three or four times a day. I don't see that you need a constant readout, just a record.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
In looking for what you suggested I found a lower cost data logger temperature / relative humidity.

http://www.microdaq.com/monarch/data_loggers/humidity-logger.php

Cost is within range and device potentially small enough to put into plastic egg.

Logger option of interest to me because will enable determination of when hen on and off nest when I am not around. Measures on 15-minute intervals would get me happy enough to graph.