Broody hens

[mewah]

I have 2 broody hens I moved to a metal stock tank. It is in a corner of the coop. I have a framed wire cover on it, so that the other hens won’t bother them. There is food and water at one end of the tank. I placed marked fertilized eggs under one of the hens a week ago.(given to me by a friend, we are not sure what breed) When I moved the 2 hens to the brooder I moved their eggs with them. I think I will move some of the unfertilized eggs out (there was a large clutch, even after moving some of them out every few days) so the fertilized eggs will stay under her and warm.
My questions are:
1) is it okay to keep the lid on? It has a wooden frame, but is a fine wire mesh for the main part.
2) if I remove the unfertilized eggs, can they be eaten.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Pamela

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

I know a lot of people keep their broodies locked up for the incubation time but I think that leads to problems. They can’t stretch their legs or take dust baths so they may even get a parasite build up. If you insist on keeping them locked up most of the time please take them out of the tank once a day for exercise and help them get back in when they are done.

If the tank doesn’t get hotter than the rest of the coop I think it would be safe to keep the lid on most of the time.

I would not eat the unfertilized eggs. They have been kept at 100F under the broody hen and that makes them go bad much faster than if they were on the counter or refrigerated. If you crack one open you can see the egg membranes will be weak and the egg will look watery and flat.

 

[mewah]

I know a lot of people keep their broodies locked up for the incubation time but I think that leads to problems. They can’t stretch their legs or take dust baths so they may even get a parasite build up. If you insist on keeping them locked up most of the time please take them out of the tank once a day for exercise and help them get back in when they are done.

If the tank doesn’t get hotter than the rest of the coop I think it would be safe to keep the lid on most of the time.

I would not eat the unfertilized eggs. They have been kept at 100F under the broody hen and that makes them go bad much faster than if they were on the counter or refrigerated. If you crack one open you can see the egg membranes will be weak and the egg will look watery and flat.

Thank you for the information. I decided to separate the 2 hens from the flock yesterday, because some of the other hens were bothering them. If it is safe for the broody hens and any chicks that hatch..I can move them back to original nesting corner...in the main part if the coop ...?

 

[DobieLover]

Thank you for the information. I decided to separate the 2 hens from the flock yesterday, because some of the other hens were bothering them. If it is safe for the broody hens and any chicks that hatch..I can move them back to original nesting corner...in the main part if the coop ...?

If the hens had gone broody on the ground and not in the nest boxes, I would leave them there and try to make that area a bit more private but not so much that the hens cannot come and go as they need.
You need to remove all infertile eggs and mark the fertile ones. Each day, the nests should be inspected and any errant eggs removed immediately.
As for the infertile eggs that the hens were setting before you gave them fertile ones, no, you cannot eat them. They must be discarded.
If your flock is not already, you need to put them on an all flock type food or chick starter crumbles with oyster shell on the side so that the mothers have something appropriate to feed their chicks when they hatch.
You also need a chick safe water source. I like using this and I keep it with a setting hen so she always has water available when she is setting.

As you can see, I do not fully isolate my setting hens from the flock.