broody hens in WINTER

[joydix]

I have two broody hens now. One is a silkie one a bantam barred rock. The silkie just would not give it up. she has gone broody every few weeks and i have broken her but i gave in and ordered some hatching eggs. Silkie does not budge. Barred has been on nest most of the time as far as i can tell but i have been at work daily since i put them under her this past friday...in the am she is off and ready to go out, which i know they do...so i open the door and let her out and she allows me to pick her up and put her back in after about 15 minutes tho i feel like she would stay longer if i let her. it is 29-31 degrees out! this am she was apparently ready before i went out there and the eggs were not real warm like they have been, but not ice cold either....looking for feedback on whether to stop micromanaging and let her decide what to do? or take the eggs and put them in incubator??? i took one from her already and gave to silkie but silkie cant handle any more than the 5 she now has..they are large eggs....

 

[cavemanrich]

Winter is not the Ideal time to have chicks hatch. If you do want chicks, I think you would have better results incubating those eggs. Then when they hatch, you have the concern of keeping the chicks warm until they feather out. Looks like your silkie is a better mom than your BR. If those eggs under the BR chill too much, you are not likely to have any chicks from that batch. Most peeps start their hatching in early spring. This way when the chicks grow, the weather also gets warmer. When feathered out,the temps are mild.
WISHING YOU BEST

 

[joydix]

oh yes i know it sucks! it gets nice and warm in the day time and it does stay really dry where they are....my silkies just go broody so often! the cochins are smarter....well i hope for the best. last year one of the silkies did fine. i don't worry about them....i am glad the barred only has 3 eggs. will candle tomorrow. thanks for your reply...j

 

[cavemanrich]

BTW silkies and cochins are the TOP broody hens for the job. Other breeds do fine as well, but these two are known to be THE BEST. There are also some breeds that rarely go broody. For that reason peeps use these alternates as surrogates.

 

[joydix]

i candled today....out of 8 eggs only 3 were doing great and strong, 1 questionable the other 4 nothing there....mail order and bad time of year so i know its not good odds. i have 6 more in the incubator a day or so behind this. will candle those later. i am fine with 3 chicks if they all hatch since it is a lousy time to have them running around anyway. its a trial run for these two hens....1st time. Merry Christmas everyone!!