Does this hen sound broody to you? *Day 21 - There's a baby!!! Pics*

[wordgirl]

We have a year-old Buff Orpington hen who has been sitting in the nestbox when I come in at night pretty much every night for the past week or so. I would usually push her out when I got the eggs, and she'd be fine getting up, although she would puff up when I put my hand in.

So yesterday, I decided to let her sit. (I'm pretty sure it's her..., anyway....

) Here are her 'symptoms'

1) She likes to sit in the nextbox, even without eggs
2) She might be a little irritable with the other hens
3) A couple times I have tried to catch her and she puffs up, drops her wings and holds them away from her body, and runs away ???
4) She often puffs up when I go near her
5) She's missing feathers on some of her tummy
6) She feels a little hot on that bare skin, but that could just be her normal temperature
7) She has a rather mad expression while she's on the nest, but maybe that's normal

I put her in the dog kennel that I have next to the coop with three eggs. She sits on them most of the time, but if I open the door and mess around in there she will often get up. Although - she sat in there for an hour or so while I scraped and banged in the coop cleaning it out and didn't seem too disturbed. So...do you think she'll be able to hatch the eggs?

 

[Miss Red]

Sounds like she's broody to me. If you've got the room and a good roo I don't see why she shouldn't successfully hatch the eggs.

 

[Winsor Woods]

I agree. She sounds Broody. Give it a go with the eggs. Let us know what happens.

Dan

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

ooooh yah! she's gone broody!

give it a go with some fertile eggs!

 

[wordgirl]

You really think so? Oh, yay!!!

Do you think it's bad that she seems to get up so much?

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

as long as she doesn't leave them alone for too long and let the egg temp go down! she still has to do her business or it would be a mess on the eggs!

 

[lemurchaser]

How much time is she off the eggs when she gets up? Are the eggs under her very warm to the touch?

If she gets of briefly and then goes back, she's broody. If she's out for big chunks of time in a day, then maybe not. Eggs under her should be really warm.

 

[wordgirl]

She laid an egg!

Do you think she'll still set? Is she just still getting ready to brood?

Quote:
I'm not totally sure. She'll get off for several minutes at a time and then go back, more than once a day.

 

[SarahIrl]

No idea about broodies, never had one yet, but it sounds like she's getting ready

 

[wordgirl]

She laid ANOTHER egg!

Great production, yes, but I don't want her to lay!!!

Is she just sitting in there because she has nothing better to do?

I tried candling the eggs today - all I can see is the yolk. It's Day 3 for the original three eggs, so shouldn't they have some veining or something? I did see something little moving in one of them when I turned the eggs, but it might have just been the yolk or something else.