Broody hens in the snow!

[humblehillsfarm]

Using a heat lamp wasn't the cause of her going broody. I've broken a broody twice this year. Once in Dec and once in Jan. They don't get extra heat. In 2020 she went broody five times, broke her three times and let her hatch twice. A broody's gonna broody.

 

[centrarchid]

She is a pretty girl. Thanks for the information. Now I don't have to worry about her being cold.

Heat application can be important in preventing eggs from freezing prior to start of incubation. My hen above got lucky in having about two weeks of good weather as her clutch was being laid. A dominique hen parasitized her nest adding additional eggs during the same interval.

 

[Lovesumchicks]

Using a heat lamp wasn't the cause of her going broody. I've broken a broody twice this year. Once in Dec and once in Jan. They don't get extra heat. In 2020 she went broody five times, broke her three times and let her hatch twice. A broody's gonna broody.

Woah that is alot of broodiness in one bird.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Woah that is alot of broodiness in one bird.

Yes! We find her endearing but also exhausting.

 

[Lovesumchicks]

Heat application can be important in preventing eggs from freezing prior to start of incubation. My hen above got lucky in having about two weeks of good weather as her clutch was being laid. A dominique hen parasitized her nest adding additional eggs during the same interval.

She just got up to go get a big poop out. She actually had 12 eggs and 2 were busted all over the other eggs. They were very warm so she is doing good.

 

[Lovesumchicks]

Yes! We find her endearing but also exhausting.

Yes she is a determined one!

 

[centrarchid]

She just got up to go get a big poop out. She actually had 12 eggs and 2 were busted all over the other eggs. They were very warm so she is doing good.

I would inspect clutch to make certain no more cracked eggs remain. If so, then remove them. Eggs that got too cold prior to incubation not likely to hatch. Hopefully your heat lamp prevented that. Even a clutch of bad eggs will be warmed well by broody hen only to not produce chicks.

 

[Lovesumchicks]

I would inspect clutch to make certain no more cracked eggs remain. If so, then remove them. Eggs that got too cold prior to incubation not likely to hatch. Hopefully your heat lamp prevented that. Even a clutch of bad eggs will be warmed well by broody hen only to not produce chicks.

Yes I cleaned off what I could by hand and turned them all. They were pretty warm. So hopefully all are being turned completely under her amd staying to temp. My hen started fighting her when she come out the coop it stresssed her out pretty bad.

 

[NatJ]

being it's very cold will she be okay with just a heat lamp. Coop is very warm inside with great ventilation.

"Very cold" outdoors does not matter. The only temperature that will matter to the hen is the temperature where she is.

You could check the temperature inside the coop, either with a thermometer or even with a dish of water. I would probably try to keep it warm enough that water does not freeze, but not add any heat above that point.

If the coop stays above freezing with no heat lamp, then I would take the heat lamp out. There is no need to make it as warm as a human house, or as warm as summertime weather.

(Hens can be fine below freezing, but they do need water, which is why I suggest above freezing as a good temperature point. With all those feathers, they really do stay warm quite well, especially since she's snuggled down on a cozy nest.)

 

[centrarchid]

The temperature that matters most in this case is what the hen can ensure while actually incubating and how low the egg temperature goes when she leaves nest to replenish herself. I have had hen successfully incubate even when ambient temperature was below 0 F. Key to success hen spent very little time off nest when she went to defecate, eat and drink. That means those resources need to be close and easy to consume. Investing time with social interactions is a distraction.