First time hatching eggs

[maddogdodge]

Well, I've committed now and put some eggs under a broody hen

I've never had any experience with hatching eggs, I've read up on it as much as I can, so I'm feeling fairly confident about it... but only time will tell!

This is a first for my broody hen too, she's gone broody many times, but never actually hatched chicks, so now's her chance!

I've got 2 eggs from my flock which I'm not sure if they're fertile or not (My roo is working, but I don't know if he gets around to all 24 hens, haha) and 6 pure Barnevelder eggs that I bought locally.

I only put them under there today, so they're due on the 14th of November. I'm so excited

Hopefully It all goes smoothly!

 

[Sustained]

Congrats on your first hatch! The nicest thing about broodies is they do all the work and you get a better hatch rate

 

[maddogdodge]

Congrats on your first hatch! The nicest thing about broodies is they do all the work and you get a better hatch rate

Thanks, I'm so excited, but trying not to get my hopes up too high. I don't want to be disappointed if they don't all hatch

I didn't see my hen get off the nest today, so I moved the water bowl to only 50cm or so away from her, and a food bowl right near her... I'm not sure if that is a good thing to do or not, but she seems happy so far.

I saw her eating today, but I haven't seen her drink today or yesterday... I'm hoping she is drinking when i'm not looking and not dehydrating herself!!

 

[Sustained]

If she's eating then it's pretty likely that she's drinking too and was just sneaky about it

yup moving the food and water closer was a good idea. At least she has the option to keep herself fed and hydrated throughout the day. Whether or not she will take advantage of it depends on the hen lol I did the same thing but my very moody broody hen looked at me like I was trying to poison her and never touched it

 

[Aphrael]

Well, I've committed now and put some eggs under a broody hen

I've never had any experience with hatching eggs, I've read up on it as much as I can, so I'm feeling fairly confident about it... but only time will tell!

This is a first for my broody hen too, she's gone broody many times, but never actually hatched chicks, so now's her chance!

I've got 2 eggs from my flock which I'm not sure if they're fertile or not (My roo is working, but I don't know if he gets around to all 24 hens, haha) and 6 pure Barnevelder eggs that I bought locally.

I only put them under there today, so they're due on the 14th of November. I'm so excited

Hopefully It all goes smoothly!

Congrats! I hope you get a good hatch, and I bet you probably will. The rooster doesn't have to mate every hen every day for them to be fertile. A hen can retain viable sperm for up to 4 weeks from a single mating. Btw, your broody is a lovely hen. Love her coloration.

If she's eating then it's pretty likely that she's drinking too and was just sneaky about it

yup moving the food and water closer was a good idea. At least she has the option to keep herself fed and hydrated throughout the day. Whether or not she will take advantage of it depends on the hen lol I did the same thing but my very moody broody hen looked at me like I was trying to poison her and never touched it

I have some broodies (d'uccles mostly) that act the exact same way! When they are brooding, I like to treat them because I know it can be hard on them. So I give them whatever is in season at the time (cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.) at least every other day. The 2 bantam cochins gobble it up like the treat it is, while the 2 d'uccles look at it and me like they KNOW I've laced it with poison and I'm not fooling them.

The cochins just figure that means more for them and are happy to eat the d'uccles' share for them.

 

[Sustained]

I have some broodies (d'uccles mostly) that act the exact same way! When they are brooding, I like to treat them because I know it can be hard on them. So I give them whatever is in season at the time (cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.) at least every other day. The 2 bantam cochins gobble it up like the treat it is, while the 2 d'uccles look at it and me like they KNOW I've laced it with poison and I'm not fooling them.

The cochins just figure that means more for them and are happy to eat the d'uccles' share for them.

Glad it's not just me that's under suspicion LOL

 

[maddogdodge]

Congrats! I hope you get a good hatch, and I bet you probably will. The rooster doesn't have to mate every hen every day for them to be fertile. A hen can retain viable sperm for up to 4 weeks from a single mating. Btw, your broody is a lovely hen. Love her coloration.

Thanks, she's a great hen

Interesting about the sperm lasting up to 4 weeks, good to know, thanks!

 

[maddogdodge]

I'm happy to see that my hen finally hopped off the nest today, I was getting concerned that she wasn't gonna move, haha!!

She's currently enjoying some scraps from the kitchen.

How long can she stay off the nest before the eggs get too cold? I can't remember if it was 30 mins or 1 hour...

She's in a large pen with two younger chicks that aren't old enough to go in with the big flock yet... Found them like this today... trying to be honorary broodies perhaps

And here's her eggs

 

[Aphrael]

Looks like she is doing good. Most broodies will only get off for about fifteen to thirty minutes. Though some may go longer. Some people will cool their incubator eggs for two hours each day. It is supposed to improve hatch rate. So I'd say they would be OK for even that long unless it is pretty chilly where they are.

 

[maddogdodge]

She was off for about 45 mins, although I suspect she would have gone back sooner but she got a little lost, lol. The pen has a sheltered area and an outdoor area, which are connected via a tunnel. She went through the tunnel to the outdoor bit, but I don't think she's figured out how to get back yet. I put her back in the inside part myself and she went straight for her eggs and settled back down on them.

Its not too cold here, its about 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 fahrenheit) right now, but we're heading into summer so it should progressively get warmer.