Eggs Arrived Today in the mail & My Hen Went Broody!!! What to do?

[Keri78]

I just received my hatching eggs in the mail and after endless hours spent researching "how to incubate eggs"...I just went out to the barn to find one of my big orpie girls laying completely FLAT on eggs and refusing to BUDGE!!!

Sooo...I'm hoping to move he to her own chicken tractor tonight this way she'll have her own set up. My questions are:
1-How much time do I have with the eggs that I got today before they NEED to go under her?(I'll be moving her tonight to her own space)Sooo 24 hours?

2-If she's still being "broody" by tomorrow afternoon should I just stuff the eggies under her and let her have a shot at it?

3- If she changes her mind after a few days could I then CAREFULLY transfer the eggs to the bator(which is up and running and ready to go?)


HELP!!!!

I'm sooo excited about the possibility of one of our girls being able to hatch out eggs!!

Thanks Keri

 

[Chicky Tocks]

Let the eggs settle overnight in an egg carton, skinny end down, big end up. You'll need to mark these eggs. Tomorrow if she's still broody, you can slip the eggs under her and pull what she's sitting on now if you don't want those to hatch too. Be careful moving her anywhere. I've broken the broody spell by moving a hen before. Keep a good eye on her. If you notice at anytime that she's not serious, put those eggs in the bator!

ETA: Yes, you can at any time transfer them to the bator.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

The eggs should not be older then 7-10 days old at most. And is she a hatchery orp or from a breeder? My hatchery birds were GREAT sitters but when the chicks started hatching they ATE them

Was she a mother before?

Hens are MUCH better incubators then the incubator itself that's for sure...I would go ahead and put them under her and let her do her job but watch them while hatching to see if she will except them. I have always had 100%hatches from shipped and my own eggs when my hens laid on them

I have TWO proven good mommies (both from breeders) but several who were not (all from hatchery)

And once I found the hatchery hen eating one of the chicks I did grab all the other eggs away from her and stuck them in the incubator...they all hatched wonderfully so yes you can move them to the incubator with no problems.

Good luck!

ETA I agree with Chicky on being carful moving her if she is already laying on eggs...I too have moved a hen before and she refused to sit on them for a long time. I just kept putting her back on them over and over and she finally settled down with them. It can break the broody spell for sure.

 

[Keri78]

Well, This is GRRRRREAT NEWS!!! Thanks GUYS!!!

She's in the barn now and the other girls have been coming in and out laying throughout the day and it doesn't seem to phase her but she is sitting on the "ledge( there are two shelves that wrap all the way around the inside of my barn). That's where the girls prefer to sleep rather than their nesting boxes. Is she ok to hatch babies up there? Should she be on the floor? She is a hatchery girl but I'm a full time stay at home Mommy so I can keep on top on things...I don't leave the house much. But thanks for the heads up on that! Funny my Mom raises puppies and she has the same issues with female dogs that come from kennels rather than people's homes...they eat the baby puppies when they are born(AAAAHHH!) WEIRD and SAD! There's just so much we don't understand and so much we mess up by tinkering with nature!

Thanks Guys! Blessings,Keri

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I would for sure put her someplace private and low to the ground away from the other hens...they will for sure have a meal of them. Can't wait to see how she does

Good luck! She may very well be a great mother...I have seen several here who have had great luck with hatchery birds when it comes to mothering. I just got a bad flock when it comes to that

 

[Keri78]

Well, I went out a couple of times to "check" on her and brought her some food, water, and grass(my 4yr. old picked for her!) Anyway, I guess she had to take a potty break so she got up and went potty but then we she saw all of her friends having a good time in the woods scavaging through the leaves she decided that looked like more fun!

Sooo..I carried her back and this time returned her to a chicken tractor all by herself with her eggs. We nestled the eggs(only one is a real egg the rest are wood) into the hay and a attempted to get her to sit back on them but she wasn't interested. Sooo...now she's in her own space(the hutch of the tractor is ground level so no worries. She seems a little confused that she's all by herself in the tractor and they others are also walking around the tractor confused as to how she got in there all by herself??? So this is distracting I'm sure BUT..they usually start heading back to the barn around 4:30pm anyway so I think once she goes to bed tonight and gets comfy again her Mama Hormones may kick back inl!!!!

Who knows! I was going to wait until tonight to move her when she was sleeping but then we she got distracted I thought it would be better to just go ahead and move her then??? Well, if she's not feelin it by tomorrow morning then it will be back to Plan B(or was is Plan A

) The Bator! Blessings,Keri