Broody since Feb…

[kirschev]

Hi! Any advice welcome! My beloved cochin Janet has been broody in what feels like forever. Since Feb .. I’m lifting her off to eat and drink and she is young, not losing weight. But how long would you recommend I let her sit? I’ve put hatching eggs under her none of which have been successful so I have some in incubator due in two weeks. She is so committed bless her I just don’t want to lose her and for her to get I’ll. like I say, she doesn’t seem to have lost a lot tho so do I persevere and see if she can hatch her own (I have some new hatching eggs under her now due in 2.5 weeks) or try and break her broodiness?

 

[Corbdee]

I would try and see if these will hatch under her, especially since she's already started. That way once she's finished you'll be able to tell if she truly was broody all this time or if something else is going, and you can go from there. If you can, see if you can candle any of the eggs to see if she's doing her part right.

 

[kirschev]

I would try and see if these will hatch under her, especially since she's already started. That way once she's finished you'll be able to tell if she truly was broody all this time or if something else is going, and you can go from there. If you can, see if you can candle any of the eggs to see if she's doing her part right.

Thank you, yes I’m keen to persevere. I would love to see her raise a brood and it seems to be what she wants. I’m convinced it is broodiness and not something else as she is doing all the right things. We’re just very fond of her and don’t want to see her suffer and get thin as she has been broody for so long now. Hopefully the warmer weather will mean we get a few hatches from underneath. I have a few in the incubator too what are your thoughts on introducing these to her a few days before hatch?

 

[aart]

I have a few in the incubator too what are your thoughts on introducing these to her a few days before hatch?

Are the incubator eggs and the eggs under the broody due to hatch with a day or two of each other?

 

[kirschev]

No, the ones under her currently are showing no signs of development at day 7, and she has some duck eggs under her due to hatch in 27 days. I have one promising egg in incubator due to hatch on 24th. Others in incubator not looking viable. I am collecting a clutch tomorrow in person so as to avoid damage in post in case that is contributing to my v poor hatch rate! I will put three under her and possibly three in incubator?! I am winging this slightly as you can probably tell :-/

 

[Shadrach]

Can you take some clear in focus pictures of
a) the nest she is sitting in while she is sitting in it
b) the nest showing the distribution of the eggs without her sitting in it

Have you checked any of the eggs that didn't hatch?
Are you judging her weight by feel or on a set of scales?

 

[kirschev]

Can you take some clear in focus pictures of
a) the nest she is sitting in while she is sitting in it
b) the nest showing the distribution of the eggs without her sitting in it

Have you checked any of the eggs that didn't hatch?
Are you judging her weight by feel or on a set of scales?

Hello, pics attached! I’m going by feel rather than scales in terms of her weight. Thank you for any advice!

 

[Shadrach]

While it is true that hens have sat and hatched in all sorts of nests in all sorts of places when confronted with difficulties, optimising the nest may give better results.
Ideally the hen needs to be able to easily control the orientation of the eggs and her position on them.
From the pictures it looks as if the hens feet will be on the coop floor which is plasic and slippery. From the pictures again, it looks as if the nesting material is very shallow and the eggs may be in contact with the plasic floor.
I see her coop is open to the outside which is great but imo the nest itself is far from optimal.

What your hens nest doesn't have is a hollow in the nest. This can be very important as it helps the hen when turning the eggs to keep the eggs in a tight pack. This allows better control of temperature and humidity and position.

This article may help explain a bit about the problems a hen may have in controling her eggs.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...e-make-a-sitting-hens-job-so-difficult.74389/

Assuming the eggs she has sat on have all been fertile, to not hatch a single egg seems to me to be unusual given she's a dilligent sitter. Have a read of the article and come back to this thread should you have further questions.

Regarding weight loss. It is very difficult to judge weight gain or loss when a chicken may weigh 7 or 8 pounds. A few ounces when dealing with these kinds of weights is a lot. Should you decide to let her continue sitting on a new batch of eggs then weighing her will give you a much better idea of the physical toll.

 

[Yardmom]

Any chicks she hatched or is given need to be within a day or two at most. As long as she has been sitting I would take the first 2 or 3 chicks that hatch out to her when they are around 24 hours old. These chicks need to be all hatched with in a day of each other as well. It sounds like you are already staggering eggs in your incubator so if the eggs under her are developing put those in your incubator when you give her the chicks. Shipped eggs can often have issues. How are you handling the shipped eggs and staggered hatches that you are incubating?

 

[kirschev]

This is brilliant advice thanks ever so. I’ve just this second added more hay… and will weight her to gauge any loss. Much appreciate the time taken to reply!