- Mar 27, 2010
- 12
- 0
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Hi,
I have 14 egg laying hens of various breeds, but a few days ago an Australorp decided to go broody. We don't have a rooster, so we just kept dealing with her pecking and growling when we came to collect the eggs under her. Anyway, I felt sorry for her today and drove down the road and bought 8 barnyard mix fertilized eggs for $1, which is kind of neat since 4 of them are a nice shade of green. Anyway, I marked both sides of the new eggs with a sharpie and put them next to her in the nest box. An hour later, they were all tucked nicely underneath her and she looked content.
I have a couple of obvious questions: Can I just leave her alone and let her hatch and raise them? I don't care a bit about hatch rate. I have 14 hens already. I gave her the eggs because she wanted to brood and my 6yo son wanted to experience this. We hatched some last year in an old aquarium and it was a blast. I can collect the daily infertile eggs easily as the new ones are clearly marked. She also doesn't switch nest boxes. She has remained in the same box for 3 days now trying to brood the infertile eggs.
Next question: If any of the eggs hatch, will the other hens attack the new chicks? How do I feed the new chicks starter with 14 hens in the run with them?
I have read other threads about putting the broody in a crate in a garage, and I would prefer not to. I would prefer to leave her where she is, but is that every successful or only on old tv shows?
Thanks,
Marie
I have 14 egg laying hens of various breeds, but a few days ago an Australorp decided to go broody. We don't have a rooster, so we just kept dealing with her pecking and growling when we came to collect the eggs under her. Anyway, I felt sorry for her today and drove down the road and bought 8 barnyard mix fertilized eggs for $1, which is kind of neat since 4 of them are a nice shade of green. Anyway, I marked both sides of the new eggs with a sharpie and put them next to her in the nest box. An hour later, they were all tucked nicely underneath her and she looked content.
I have a couple of obvious questions: Can I just leave her alone and let her hatch and raise them? I don't care a bit about hatch rate. I have 14 hens already. I gave her the eggs because she wanted to brood and my 6yo son wanted to experience this. We hatched some last year in an old aquarium and it was a blast. I can collect the daily infertile eggs easily as the new ones are clearly marked. She also doesn't switch nest boxes. She has remained in the same box for 3 days now trying to brood the infertile eggs.
Next question: If any of the eggs hatch, will the other hens attack the new chicks? How do I feed the new chicks starter with 14 hens in the run with them?
I have read other threads about putting the broody in a crate in a garage, and I would prefer not to. I would prefer to leave her where she is, but is that every successful or only on old tv shows?
Thanks,
Marie