Broody off the nest for a few hours!!

[L1sa]

Help!

I let my broody out for a stretch this evening and at some point after letting her out, the door had swung shut to the broody coop and she couldn't get back in. I didn't know this and just got on with my own stuff and just now when I went to check that my 6 week olds had put themselves to bed, I discovered broody mumma in the main coop with the 6 week olds under her!!!

So I rectified this as soon as I discovered it, but that means the eggs had gotten cold and it could have been for as long as 3 hours without mumma, (certainly no longer.) We are on day 11. I candled them yesterday too and they all looked fantastic.

I hope this doesn't affect them, I was hoping for such a good hatch rate this time.

I need stories of hope, please help me.

 

[Melky]

I think you are still ok don’t panic. A broody can leave for up to ten hours and eggs still hatch ok. Most only leave for an hour or two. Most broody hens are secluded with the eggs food/water to hatch because a mother may go back to wrong nest of eggs to hatch or if see new chicks not hers will go back to them to nest and leave the eggs. Make sure she sits on them now and does not leave for long periods in the future.

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

What was the temperature there yesterday? If it wasn't terribly cold they might be ok. I had a bad broody that escaped the broody pen for an undermined amount of time. When I realized she was off the nest the egg( she only had 1 egg and several golf balls) did not feel warm. I tucked it under another more reliable broody to get it warm and got the bad broody settled back on the nest. I made sure she was going to stay there before I gave her back the egg. Candled it later that night and wasn't sure. Waited and candled the next night and the baby was moving. The egg hatched just fine. And that hen will never hatch eggs again.

 

[L1sa]

She's been such a good broody, it wasn't even her fault that she couldn't get to her eggs, the door had shut her out, whether by the wind or by some of the other chooks, and she couldn't get back in. She's been barely leaving the coop, sometimes she doesn't leave it at all.

That's it, I'm leaving her in the broody coop with the door shut from now on, not risking that happening again.

Thank you. I'll keep you posted.

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

She's been such a good broody, it wasn't even her fault that she couldn't get to her eggs, the door had shut her out, whether by the wind or by some of the other chooks, and she couldn't get back in. She's been barely leaving the coop, sometimes she doesn't leave it at all.

That's it, I'm leaving her in the broody coop with the door shut from now on, not risking that happening again.

Thank you. I'll keep you posted.

I'm surprised she didn't freak out and make a bunch of noise to get your attention. I've never had a broody that would willingly get off the nest (excluding that one bad broody), I always have to go get them for bathroom breaks and put food and water in with them. And when they are out they act all broody and that irritates the other birds so I have to watch them like a hawk because they tend to start fights. But when their ready to go back to the nest they make an awful loud sound and come looking for me. I imagine they are saying "HEY LADY IM POOPED PUT ME BACK". Anyway idk how big your broody house is but you might consider kitty litter pan in there with dirt or wood ash so she can get in a dirt bath. That's about the only thing my girls do when their off the nest... you besides poop and try to fight.

 

[L1sa]

She did actually make a bit of noise, but a friend of mine had just rung and we were having a bit of an in depth phone call! I kind of heard the noise but only in the back of my mind. I always go out as it gets close to sun down just make sure all is good, but tonight was the first night I didn't since she's been sitting. I'm just hoping all is good.

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

Hope they are good!

 

[The Moonshiner]

You really can never tell.
Eggs are funny like that. Sometimes it seems the slightest thing will ruin a hatch but other times you can screw up everything and still get a good hatch.
I never give up hope.
Once I had a mallard setting in the barn and it stormed all night. When I saw the next morning that water had come in under the wall and filled the nest. Eggs were underwater. She ended up hatching 11/13.
Another time when going into lock down I mistakenly unplugged the incubator instead of turner. It was off most of the day and I still hatched about 80%.

 

[L1sa]

When I saw the next morning that water had come in under the wall and filled the nest. Eggs were underwater. She ended up hatching 11/13.

It was off most of the day and I still hatched about 80%.

Wow!! That's amazing! Underwater?? And they still hatched? That's incredible. Thank you so much for your reply, I'm beginning to calm down a bit now.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Wow!! That's amazing! Underwater?? And they still hatched? That's incredible. Thank you so much for your reply, I'm beginning to calm down a bit now.

I think they must of enjoyed it or weird coincident was that we ended up with 40 something babies that spring and that was the 3 or 4 year of hatching mallards.
That batch ended up leaving the property daily and going to the neighbors pond or down to his creek. I couldn't keep them off water.
Eventually they grew up and the next two years decided to try to take every other ducks with them. After finally convincing a couple of my other breeds to try to follow I ended getting out of mallards.
Haven't had the problem since.