Today is day two for Java and her clutch. I always cull all of the roosters we end up with but she seems to be broody more often than she lays. Thus, we decided to give her a job. I procured a dozen fertile eggs for her, and designed a brooder that can be completely disassembled and stored away when not in use most of the year. I stuck in a 250 watt brooder heat lamp to keep things warm. Our part of Oregon is still pretty chilly this April. I have brooded chicks in this brooder but never gone all out for a broody hen and hatch. The brooder itself is 5 feet wide X 4 feet deep with 18" high walls. The overall inside height is around 32" so she can easily get up and stretch her wings, walk around, eat and drink during the brief times she leaves her nest, or if she does at all..? It doesn't look as if she has gotten up other than changing her position in the last 24 hours. I took a sharpie and marked all of the eggs with a red X in case she adds one to it, but I'd be surprised if she did. Should I be checking to make sure she is rotating the eggs? If so, how often? I set the brooder up on our covered patio in an area that is shielded from behind by a hedge, and mostly under cover. I stretched an old thickly woven hemp rug over the roof and covered the entire roof with a tarp to hold in warmth and keep it dry. At night or during windy conditions I simply pull the extra rug down to cover the front which is 1/2" hardware cloth to keep the drafts out. I leave about 3/4 of the rug down pretty much all of the time so she has privacy. I just tuck up one corner during the day so she has a little daylight. She has been contently cooing every time we check on her, and the temperature stays at around 85-90 degrees near her nest. Where the brooder is set up is about 40 feet from the coop and run where all of the other girls are. I have read other posts from people who say that it may be difficult to re-integrate her and the chicks into the flock. Should I move the brooder out next to the run? We have room to do it but I just thought it better to keep Java and her babies out of the weather as much as possible. Does anyone see anything I am overlooking or doing wrong? We are pretty excited and looking forward to the hatch, so I want to be sure I do everything right. As I indicated, I am a newbie at hatching so any advice or info would be great. I look forward to comments and advice! FoosterRooster
Quote:Gosh, Fooster, yer doin just fine. Actually ya don`t need the heat lamp as mama can handle that end of the deal all by herself. Don`t worry about her getting off the nest, it`s quite common for them to skip a day and often, too. If you wanna move the works out next to the run there shouldn`t be any problem with that. Don`t worry about the eggs being turned, hens have been doing that for centuries. Now that she is definately broody, she won`t add any eggs to the clutch. All she needs from you is food, water, and privacy. Here`s a great article on broody hens. Good luck.........Pop http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Broody-Hens-1.html
