BYC Café

[ronott1]

Why is she panting?
View attachment 2116096

That is how they cool off

 

[Shadrach]

Sour and Shad, do either of you know if the brooder hen's body temp good up during hatch?
I've noticed Kerrie panting on the nest and drinking a lot from her bottle.
So far I saw one fluffy yellow chick with some brown fuzz on it's back snoozing under her left wing.

It does go up. A hens normal core body temp is around 41.7C. For the first 19 days of incubation they try to maintain a temp of 37C at the egg site. For the last three days they try to drop the temp to about 36C.
But, if you take the temp at the contact point of the hen with her eggs, it's not unusual to get readings of up to 43C. I see hens here in the house nest box trying to lose heat through panting as chicks are hatching. As soon as the chicks hatch they do best at around 32C to 34C. It seems from what I've seen the mums shove the chicks to the rear of the clutch, further away from the hot spot. It's one of the problems with straw nests, thermal regulation is quite difficult. They tend to better in contact with soil.

 

[DobieLover]

That is how they cool off

I know! Why does she need cooling off when it's 58F outside?

 

[ronott1]

I know! Why does she need cooling off when it's 58F outside?

So that the temperature is not too high for the eggs

 

[DobieLover]

It does go up. A hens normal core body temp is around 41.7C. For the first 19 days of incubation they try to maintain a temp of 37C at the egg site. For the last three days they try to drop the temp to about 36C.
But, if you take the temp at the contact point of the hen with her eggs, it's not unusual to get readings of up to 43C. I see hens here in the house nest box trying to lose heat through panting as chicks are hatching. As soon as the chicks hatch they do best at around 32C to 34C. It seems from what I've seen the mums shove the chicks to the rear of the clutch, further away from the hot spot. It's one of the problems with straw nests, thermal regulation is quite difficult. They tend to better in contact with soil.

Okay. Thanks. Now I get it!
And for what it's worth, I wanted to put a thick soil base with a thin layer of straw on top when I set her up but I couldn't find any and what I could have dug up here was sopping wet.
When she comes off the nest, I'm doing another upgrade to the nest for my next broody.

 

[sourland]

It does go up. A hens normal core body temp is around 41.7C. For the first 19 days of incubation they try to maintain a temp of 37C at the egg site. For the last three days they try to drop the temp to about 36C.
But, if you take the temp at the contact point of the hen with her eggs, it's not unusual to get readings of up to 43C. I see hens here in the house nest box trying to lose heat through panting as chicks are hatching. As soon as the chicks hatch they do best at around 32C to 34C. It seems from what I've seen the mums shove the chicks to the rear of the clutch, further away from the hot spot. It's one of the problems with straw nests, thermal regulation is quite difficult. They tend to better in contact with soil.

Good post.

 

[Shadrach]

Okay. Thanks. Now I get it!

Give her a shallow small bowl of water. You'll need a saucer type container rather than something with right angle sides just in case she pushes a chick into the water. I provide both food and water as soon as I hear eggs cracking.

 

[Shadrach]

One other thing you need to watch for is any chicks that make their way to the front of the hen. The hen will peck at them because she knows they shouldn't be there. You just need to tuck the chicks back under her bum and she'll leave them alone.

 

[DobieLover]

So that the temperature is not too high for the eggs

I gotta say, this being a broody hen is a hell of a lot of work and dedication.
Sitting there staring at the same 4 walls for three weeks straight, eating a pittance, crapping once a day, barely grooming, then having to do all this thermoregulation at the jumping off point. Then let's talk about the crazy "get the hell away from my BABIES!!!!" routine. No wonder Barb started molting in August while she was raising her brood.

 

[DobieLover]

Give her a shallow small bowl of water. You'll need a saucer type container rather than something with right angle sides just in case she pushes a chick into the water. I provide both food and water as soon as I hear eggs cracking.

She's got the baby bottle right there and has been at it a lot.