First time broody hen & transporting fertilized eggs questions

[EmmaDonovan]

This hen is a large, fluffy Bielefelder and this is first time she has gone broody. She is the undisputed alpha of her flock. She aggressively chased out any hen who tried to get into her nest box (they have other nest boxes). They learned fast and now leave her alone.

She has pulled out about a dozen belly feathers (I know this is normal). She has come out to eat and drink at least once but it's very hot here (105°+) so I put feed pellets and water with some Chik 'N' Aid with her in the nest box. I check and refill those daily so I know she is eating and drinking in the nest box.

She is not aggressive towards people, does not growl/bite/peck, and will allow you to touch and move her although she does the Cluck-Cluck-Cluck of Annoyance until you leave. She is currently laying on some wooden eggs although I found a real egg under her today. I'm guessing it's hers since she won't allow anyone else in there but it is small for an egg of hers. I am hoping to pick up some fertilized eggs this weekend.

There are four other adult hens in her flock. They have not been around chicks before (not since they were chicks themselves). They do not free range and their enclosure is secure so I haven't fenced her off from the others. We've reinforced the perimeter just to make sure no chicks can escape.

The nest box is a large plastic storage bin. Even when she's all pancaked out there is room to spare. It has two open doorways so there's good air circulation and we have a rotating fan constantly moving air around the coop.

Questions:

1. How many eggs can you put under a large first-time mom? I do not want to stress her out. We'd welcome up to ten chicks but even just two or three would be fine. I've already arranged a home for any boys (we can't have roosters where we live).

2. How old can the eggs be and still be reasonably viable? Do they have to have been laid in the past day or so, or can they be older than that?

3. Do you just bring the eggs home, mark them, then slip them under her? I do not plan to candle them, I'll just let her do her thing. We have coop cameras and there will be one dedicated to her so we can keep an eye on her.

4. I feel like this is a stupid question but... incubators are all fancy-shmacy with regulated temperature and humidity and everything...so how is it you can just put fertilized eggs in an egg carton and drive them across town and they're okay? (You can tell I have zero experience with hatching.) There's no A/C in my car so wherever I pick them up, they'll have a very warm trip back to the house.

 

[Perris]

I put feed pellets and water with some Chik 'N' Aid with her in the nest box. I check and refill those daily so I know she is eating and drinking in the nest box.

Please keep them out of the nest box. She needs to get up to stretch her legs every now and then, and to poop. If food and water are close by, it is better than having them actually in the nest. You want to keep the nest clean and dry, and food and water in there work against that too.

I found a real egg under her today. I'm guessing it's hers since she won't allow anyone else in there but it is small for an egg of hers.

If she really is ready to brood the egg-laying system inside her will switch off and the incubation system will switch on; she stops laying and starts sitting. So if it was hers, it was the last of the cycle. Many sitting hens in my experience will let others lay in their nest; they want chicks, they don't care whose. (I assume you removed it anyway since it will be infertile.)

How many eggs can you put under a large first-time mom? I do not want to stress her out. We'd welcome up to ten chicks but even just two or three would be fine.

How many you set and how many survive to grow into adults are two different things. There will be a physical limit to the number she can cover depending on her body size and the size of the eggs. She will turn each egg very frequently every day and night (every 15 minutes in one example I read about), so each one you give her will mean more work for her, even before they hatch.

The more you put under her, the higher the chances that something somewhere will go wrong with one or more of them. Personally I would not give a broody more than 6, and since hatching eggs are often sold in 6s, that works for us.

How old can the eggs be and still be reasonably viable? Do they have to have been laid in the past day or so, or can they be older than that?

In nature a bird builds a clutch by laying an egg a day, and settling down to incubate them when they consider it enough. So a clutch of say 8 will have been laid over at least 8 days. There are studies to show that hatch rates are best if the eggs are within a week old. Oddly, the freshest do not do better than the 3-6 day old eggs, and I have found that in my own case too; the last laid egg is the one that didn't hatch in a couple of cases here. So try to get eggs laid in the last week, not today. Up to 2 weeks old should be fine.

Do you just bring the eggs home, mark them, then slip them under her? I do not plan to candle them, I'll just let her do her thing.

I do, though I also let them rest somewhere cool the first night. Transport them with the utmost care: Avoid bumps in the road. Avoid quick acceleration or hard braking. Pretend you are driving with an open bowl full of water in the footwell. Egg contents are liquid, and shaking them up is the surest way to destroy the chances of them hatching.

how is it you can just put fertilized eggs in an egg carton and drive them across town and they're okay? (You can tell I have zero experience with hatching.) There's no A/C in my car so wherever I pick them up, they'll have a very warm trip back to the house.

Do you have a cool bag for buying frozen produce at the supermarket? Put the carton in that, nestled in a towel for padding (see last point).

Good luck! Having a broody is the best chicken-keeping experience for me.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Excellent info, thank you! I will make some changes. This is very eggciting.

 

[Perris]

This is very eggciting.

It is! Prepare for a bit of a rollercoaster, as excitement and anxiety can throw your emotions around a bit. If there is one bit of advice I'd prioritize, it is to sit on your hands. Try not to interfere. Trust her to know what she's doing: she's being guided by millions of years of evolution, without which she wouldn't exist. We think we know it all, but we don't. Everything doesn't always work out well, but responding to the urge to do something when we're concerned can make things go very wrong very quickly. I have learned by experience that hands off delivers better outcomes. As I have learned not to be greedy in the number of eggs set.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

When my hens have tried to incubate eggs in really hot weather, the embryos have died. If you are determined to try, I advise you to get an incubator and incubate them indoors and give her the newly hatched chicks when they are done.

She seems like a poor breed choice for your weather, brooding will be especially hard on her. I'd try to break her instead of letting her sit in those conditions. You know better than she does.