First time broody

[Josi]

Hello!! We have had our chickens for just over a year now. I think I have a hen that is broody. She hasn't left the nesting box for about 4 days now. We don't have a rooster and would like to buy some fertilized eggs and have her hatch them. The nesting boxes are all about 3 ft off the ground. I know I should move her so after hatching the chicks don't fall, but should I take her out of the coop all together or make a nest on the ground for her? Also will she only stay broody for a limited time or do I have a few more days to find fertilized eggs? Thanks for any advise.

 

[Poultry parent]

She'll stay broody as long as it takes to hatch eggs unless you try to break her brood. It's best to separate her from the other chickens

 

[Serenity06]

She won't stop until you make her or she has babies. If you decide to separate her from the other chickens keep her close so they don't forget who she is. If your coop and run can contain chicks then I think it would be okay to keep them in. I know many people who do this and don't have problems with the older chickens being mean so long as mamma protects them.

 

[Josi]

Thanks for the help!! I moved her to her own space where she can still see into the coop where the other chickens are. Boy was she unhappy with the move!! I Gave her 8 eggs to sit on and after about 2 hours she was sitting on 3. I scooted the rest closer to her and now she pulled them all under her!! Hoping we have some luck!!

 

[Josi]

Day 21... Hoping to see some chicks today or tomorrow but momma seems to have lost interest in sitting. She's been off the eggs for about 3 hours now and they are cool. Should I put them under a heat lamp or let momma do her thing??

 

[bobbi-j]

Day 21... Hoping to see some chicks today or tomorrow but momma seems to have lost interest in sitting. She's been off the eggs for about 3 hours now and they are cool. Should I put them under a heat lamp or let momma do her thing??

Have you heard any peeping from the eggs? Did you candle them at all to see if they were developing? Could be they're not viable and she can sense that. I think I'd candle them to see if they developed.

 

[Josi]

I candled a few of them 3-4 days ago and I could see movement in them. Should I candle again?

 

[bobbi-j]

I candled a few of them 3-4 days ago and I could see movement in them. Should I candle again?

Do you have an incubator to put them in? They need to be kept in fairly humid conditions to be able to hatch properly, and I don't know if you could achieve that with a heat lamp.

 

[Josi]

I don't have an incubator. I candled them all and I think they all look like the pics of a 21 day egg. I did put them under a heat lamp last night and nothing yet. Not hearing any noise from them either. Any thoughts? What is the longest amount of time I should wait for them to hatch? Also when I candle the eggs if I turn it I can see fluid shifting. Is that normal at this point

 

[bobbi-j]

I don't have an incubator. I candled them all and I think they all look like the pics of a 21 day egg. I did put them under a heat lamp last night and nothing yet. Not hearing any noise from them either. Any thoughts? What is the longest amount of time I should wait for them to hatch? Also when I candle the eggs if I turn it I can see fluid shifting. Is that normal at this point

It's been a while since I've incubated and candled eggs, but I don't remember seeing liquid shifting around in them at Day 21. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Go to the Learning Center at the top of the page and look under Hatching Eggs and Raising Chicks. There are some very good pictures of each day of egg development. It could be that these eggs did not develop properly and that's why the hen abandoned them.

I wouldn't keep them more than a couple of more days, especially if there are no signs of life (like peeping noises coming from the eggs).