Egg eating broody

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Are the eggs d

Thanks fort he update! I am in the same situation... my broody ate five of her eggs in the last week or so. I suspect one of them broke by accident and she got into taste of them... or who knows? So I am setting an incubator tonight. She might be becoming dinner... unless there is a way I can be sure this craziness stops here. Before she becomes dinner, I might try giving the chick back to her once they hatch, but I am not feeling very confident. Seems not everyone is cut out to be a mother and if she eats eggs that she will lay in the future... what will I eat? Also, what are the chances, now that she ate eggs, will she eat the chicks? If I give them to her at night, how do I monitor the situation so if they are rejected they are not dead by morning?

Alwaya give chicks to broodies at night. (The OP of this thread doomed chances of adoption by "throwing the chicks under her" broody during the day. I do have a few broodies who will adopt chicks on sight during daylight, but it's fairly rare.) In pitch black darkness except for a dim flashlight so You can see, place each chick in the nest box behind and beneath the broody's tail. Each chick will instinctively go underneath the broody for warmth. Observe the broody's reactions. She will shift her body some as she feels the warmth and movement of the chicks, but should remain mostly still and quiet. If all seems well, keep adding chicks. After all chicks are added, observe the broody for several minutes (mostly by sound since you will be mostly in darkness) to make sure she seems quiet and content. If so, leave her for the night. Then plan to get up well before dawn the next morn to observe her reactions as she sees the chicks for the first time. If she broody-clucks softly to them, she is accepting them. She probably won't leave the nest box with them for at least 24 hours or so, but that is normal. That is bonding time while chicks regain strength lost while hatching, and the chicks don't need to eat for approx. 3 days anyway, since they receive nutrients from their absorbed egg yolk.

Without seeing your broody actually eat the eggs, there's no way to know if she accidently crushed eggs before eating them, or intentionally pecked the shell and ate them then. In the future, you could aim a camera at her to know for sure. Also to clarify, did you find shell remnants and a damp spot in the nest box, or were the eggs gone entirely, with no evidence they were ever there?

 

[PianoChickens]

Are the eggs d

Alwaya give chicks to broodies at night. (The OP of this thread doomed chances of adoption by "throwing the chicks under her" broody during the day. I do have a few broodies who will adopt chicks on sight during daylight, but it's fairly rare.) In pitch black darkness except for a dim flashlight so You can see, place each chick in the nest box behind and beneath the broody's tail. Each chick will instinctively go underneath the broody for warmth. Observe the broody's reactions. She will shift her body some as she feels the warmth and movement of the chicks, but should remain mostly still and quiet. If all seems well, keep adding chicks. After all chicks are added, observe the broody for several minutes (mostly by sound since you will be mostly in darkness) to make sure she seems quiet and content. If so, leave her for the night. Then plan to get up well before dawn the next morn to observe her reactions as she sees the chicks for the first time. If she broody-clucks softly to them, she is accepting them. She probably won't leave the nest box with them for at least 24 hours or so, but that is normal. That is bonding time while chicks regain strength lost while hatching, and the chicks don't need to eat for approx. 3 days anyway, since they receive nutrients from their absorbed egg yolk.

Without seeing your broody actually eat the eggs, there's no way to know if she accidently crushed eggs before eating them, or intentionally pecked the shell and ate them then. In the future, you could aim a camera at her to know for sure. Also to clarify, did you find shell remnants and a damp spot in the nest box, or were the eggs gone entirely, with no evidence they were ever there?

Thanks for all the golden tips!
I never found the first egg that disappeared, the rest were broken and eaten only in part. Some might have not been eaten at all, but simply broken and mixed in with the wood shavings she is sitting on. I cleaned the nest every time.

I will think how to set a camera. I don't have electricity very far into the coop, so I'd need to rig something with extension cords or something. But probably could be done with some thinking.

There is still week and a half or two weeks to go with the hatching process so we will see then.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Thanks for all the golden tips!
I never found the first egg that disappeared, the rest were broken and eaten only in part. Some might have not been eaten at all, but simply broken and mixed in with the wood shavings she is sitting on. I cleaned the nest every time.

I will think how to set a camera. I don't have electricity very far into the coop, so I'd need to rig something with extension cords or something. But probably could be done with some thinking.

There is still week and a half or two weeks to go with the hatching process so we will see then.

A game camera works great when there is no power.