First time hatching eggs

[seagirl]

thanks so much! is it wrong that I feel like I am hatching these eggs myself?

 

[maddogdodge]

it seems like two of my girls have gone broody together! my silkie fluffy has been setting for a little over a week now and now for the past couple of days my white hen mayo has been setting just a few feet away! they look like two sisters! I am hoping to have two sets of baby chicks in the next couple of weeks

Oh how exciting

Hope it goes well for you!!

Very warm water (99-100 degrees (ish) and antibacterial soap. If the mud/poo is really stuck you can let them sit in the water a minute or two. Then wipe them gently (no scrubbing!) until they are clean and pat them dry with a soft cloth.

Thanks for that!

 

[maddogdodge]

Well today I took my brown hen off her nest for a minute and I noticed that she's actually got virtually no feathers on her underside... she must have plucked them out... is that normal behaviour? She doesn't seem bothered by it.

My other broody (the white one) crapped in her nest again today

Its her first time ever going broody so she's probably just not getting the hang of it. I'm not expecting many (if any) of her eggs to hatch, but i'll let her sit until I candle and see what happens.

I was going to candle my barnevelder eggs tonight, but it is very cold outside, so I think I'll wait until a warmer night, I'm not keen on going out into the rain and wind in the dark....

 

[Aphrael]

Well today I took my brown hen off her nest for a minute and I noticed that she's actually got virtually no feathers on her underside... she must have plucked them out... is that normal behaviour? She doesn't seem bothered by it.

My other broody (the white one) crapped in her nest again today

Its her first time ever going broody so she's probably just not getting the hang of it. I'm not expecting many (if any) of her eggs to hatch, but i'll let her sit until I candle and see what happens.

I was going to candle my barnevelder eggs tonight, but it is very cold outside, so I think I'll wait until a warmer night, I'm not keen on going out into the rain and wind in the dark....

Yes, the feather plucking is normal for broody hens. They pluck feathers from the under part of their chest to line the nest around the eggs with.
It does sound like your other broody just isn't quite getting the hang of it yet. Maybe she'll get better with practice.

I would definitely wait and not go out to candle in the cold wind and rain. They'll still be there tomorrow to candle, or whenever you can do it without getting drenched and cold. I HAVE gone out into the middle of driving rain with gale force winds to usher all the ducks and chickens in to the warm, dry safety of their coops before the hail had a chance to start coming down. It just struck out of nowhere and caught them off guard. Then they panicked and didn't know where to go or what to do. We were all like half frozen drowned rats at the end, but everyone was tucked safely in just before the hail started.

 

[maddogdodge]

Day 10 of incubation of my Barnevelder eggs, and day 7 of my other eggs. Tonight is a warm and clear night so I took the opportunity, and candled all of the eggs

And I'm pretty pleased with the result!! From what I could see, all 6 of my Barnevelder eggs are growing strong

as are the two of my eggs that are with them (Looks like Mr. Roo is definitely working then!)

As for the 8 eggs that are from my flock and are under my young hen who has been crapping in the nest. 1 was infertile, so I took that one out (It also happened to be the worst soiled one from her messes). All the rest I could see clearly lots of veins, and an embryo in there too. Some are definitely alive because I could actually see them moving on their own and they look big and strong. But there are a few I'm not so sure about... Still trying to learn exactly what a 'Quitter' looks like, lol. I've left them in there for now though.

I'm very pleased with that result, to be honest, I was expecting to find a whole bunch of infertile/dead ones, so I'm totally stoked by this!!

So excited for hatch days!!

On another note... Talk about broodiness being contagious!!! These two have been on the nest all day, and they were most definitely not pleased to be moved when i went to collect the eggs!! Excuse the dirty nests, I have to clean them every day because I've got some hens who sleep in the nests at night and make an awful mess... slowly working on training them out of it, but its taking ages!!



And again, my little chicks/pullets getting in on the act with my broody this morning, they absolutely LOVE sitting with her, such funny little things! Broody mum doesn't mind it either, she lets them just about walk on her... yet if a person gets within a meter of her, she's puffed up and growling

 

[Aphrael]

Great news! Congrats.

For the ones roosting in the nest boxes, I have found that when I have some roosting where I don't want them, if I go out after dark each night and move them to the proper place, they will eventually catch on. It is a little tedious, but it usually only takes a week or two for even the most stubborn ones.

 

[maddogdodge]

Great news! Congrats.

For the ones roosting in the nest boxes, I have found that when I have some roosting where I don't want them, if I go out after dark each night and move them to the proper place, they will eventually catch on. It is a little tedious, but it usually only takes a week or two for even the most stubborn ones.

Thanks

Yes, thats what I've been doing, I've gone down from six hens camping out there, to only 3 doing it, so it is working, but still taking a while

 

[Aphrael]

Thanks

Yes, thats what I've been doing, I've gone down from six hens camping out there, to only 3 doing it, so it is working, but still taking a while

Some are more stubborn than others. I've had some catch on after only a couple times and others that took a couple weeks. But they don't like being disrupted after they go to sleep, so they'll eventually learn they shouldn't roost there. Good luck!

 

[maddogdodge]

Some are more stubborn than others. I've had some catch on after only a couple times and others that took a couple weeks. But they don't like being disrupted after they go to sleep, so they'll eventually learn they shouldn't roost there. Good luck!

Thanks

I'm sure in time they'll figure it out!

 

[Titanpaul726]

Congrats on your first hatch!