Can mama hens handle extended brooding?

[RenoHuskerDu]

Need help. Lost 8 more eggs to another snake, human error this time, cage left unlatched all night. Can we safely put 8 more eggs under the same hen? She's been brooding for 20 days already.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

She won't stay on for another 20 days.

 

[Lexievans11990]

Need help. Lost 8 more eggs to another snake, human error this time, cage left unlatched all night. Can we safely put 8 more eggs under the same hen? She's been brooding for 20 days already.

She probably will not stay on much longer. I’m sure she’s hungry and thirsty from sitting for 20 days. Anyway she probably won’t sit any longer and if she did I wouldn’t let her

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

I got expert advice from our local chicken farm. We're moving mama hen and some more eggs into a big dog cage, snakeproofing that, and putting the bottom of her travel cage in there as a big nest. In the big dog cage she'll have food and water at will.

If she comes off the eggs, then we'll know she's done. But the chicken farm lady thinks she'll stay on them.

 

[Chicalina]

That is not good for the hen. Absolutely not good. She will have lost weight and condition over the 3 weeks and then to requite another consecutive 3 weeks from her? Just no.

Sorry, I'm not on the fence with this. I thought you were going to say another week. Not 3.

Find another broody. You can encourage another hen to go broody by confining her to a nest box for a few days. If it works, then swap out the eggs and put them under her for the rest of the time and release your other hen.

Or borrow a hen from the farm. Or get them to hatch the eggs. Or get an incubator. Or wait until the same hen goes broody again in a couple of months after after has regained her health. Many other options besides stretching one hen to 6 or 7 weeks of very little food, water and exercise.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

Thanks, random internet person. I imagine that your children are well cared for too. But I value relationships, and have one with our chicken expert. She says the hen will stop brooding herself if she's tired of it. Now we see that she is helping herself to food and water in her new surroundings. I think we'll give all future broody hens this new luxury setup.

 

[Chicalina]

Thanks, random internet person. I imagine that your children are well cared for too. But I value relationships, and have one with our chicken expert. She says the hen will stop brooding herself if she's tired of it. Now we see that she is helping herself to food and water in her new surroundings. I think we'll give all future broody hens this new luxury setup.

You are welcome, random Internet person!

What have my children got to do with the price of fish?

You are stretching your hen's health too far and if you cared about her, you would not.

You are also deliberately creating an unnecessary but likely situation where baby chicks will die in their shells due to being abandoned.

But you live with your lovely conscience and 'luxury setup'

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Thanks, random internet person. I imagine that your children are well cared for too. But I value relationships, and have one with our chicken expert. She says the hen will stop brooding herself if she's tired of it. Now we see that she is helping herself to food and water in her new surroundings. I think we'll give all future broody hens this new luxury setup.

Why then did you seek advice on a forum where all responders are anonymous, and then be rude to a "random internet person" that was trying to be helpful? Fwiw i have had dozens of broody hens that have hatched thousands of chicks over the past many years. And I fully agree with @Chicalina . So now you can be rude to this "random internet person" too.

 

[Chicalina]

@Allsfairinloveandbugs I think I you a little bit