Broody pullet question

[crystallane]

I have a pullet who went broody two days ago. I have been reading through this forum and have learned that pullet eggs dont hatch very well. The eggs she is sitting on are from chickens that have only been laying a couple of weeks. Should I leave her on those or try to get eggs from older hens? If I leave her on the eggs shes on now what will she do if they dont hatch? Does she get up after 21 days or will she keep sitting?

Thanks!

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

You can leave her on them and see what happens. It is generally better to get eggs for hatching from hens that have been laying for a while. Usually the pullet eggs are smaller and therefore will produce smaller chicks or developement problems. if they don't hatch then she will usually kick them out of the nest. She will continue to set on the eggs, if they are good, until they hatch. She does not really start incubating them until she has established her clutch at which time she will stop laying and start truely setting. It is from that time that the 21 days start. She will move eggs around under her to warm or cool them accordingly for growth rate so that they all hatch about the same time. If this is her first time going broody then there is a chance that she could abandon the eggs. the bst is to let nature run its course because the hen knows much better than we do.

 

[crystallane]

She has stopped laying eggs. On saturday I noticed she had been sitting in her nest for hours. So I ended up getting her out and she was sitting on one egg. I took that egg out. I went back out there a couple of hours later and she was back in the nest sitting on nothing. She was still there yesterday morning so I stuck 4 eggs under her. She got out once yesterday and has been there ever since. I guess I shouldnt have put eggs under her.

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

Once a hen sets tight she will generally only leave the nest once a day to eat and drink and poo. If she wants to go broody and set and you want the pitter patter of little chicken feet around the yard then by all means give her some eggs to set on. Depending on her size she can handle up to about 18 eggs. Otherwise she will continue to set on an empty nest until you break her broody cycle which sometimes can be tough.

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

Where are you at in central florida? We are in Ocala.

 

[crystallane]

Kissimmee.

So should I leave her on the ones shes on now or get new ones? I wouldnt mind having a few babies.

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

If the eggs she is on are fertile then I would leave them under her. If you have a few more then put them under her also. If you are not sure about fertility, you can candle them in a week or so to make sure.

 

[crystallane]

Thank you. I did not expect this to happen so soon and had no idea what to do!!

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

You can PM me any time if you have questions. We have a broody hen that just loves to have chicks. Her first hatch was 6 and we put another 18 day old with her. At 4 weeks they went to a different pen and she went to the yard. She layed 2 eggs and went broody again. We broke her twice and gave up and gave her 11 eggs to hatch and put another 13 day olds with her. She just loves being a mommie. We've ran about 600 chicks through here so far this year.

 

[lauralou]

I had a young muscovy duck that I sold. After I sold her, I set the first 12 eggs that she ever laid under broody chickens. Nine of the 12 eggs hatched. The eggs were much, much smaller than the eggs of a mature duck. So were the ducklings, of course. But they were quite healthy.

My thought was, "It's worth a try." Worked for me.