Found a broody! To move or not to move?

[oesdog]

Well UPDATE!!!!!!! Any sign of babies yet?????????????????

Oes

 

[mychookschick]

Sorry Oes, no babies yet!

But am checking the incubator chicks tonight! And we will know what we are in for then! YAY!

 

[B J Hopkins]

I believe I've a broody Cochin. She stayed on the nest most of yesterday. Was on the nest this morning and both times I checked during the day. Just checked tonight and she's in a nest box, but not the one where I gave her eggs! Tomorrow if she is still sitting I'll move her during the night into the building I've my brooder. Put her up in the stack of straw. I've a couple Silkie eggs I'll give her besides her coop mates eggs. Right now she's on 5 eggs, two are hers.

 

[oesdog]

OOoooooooooh - Babies that sounds great.

I am thinking of starting some more eggs off soon. - Healing powers of chicks! Since I lost my mum a few weeks ago I have not felt like doing much but I guess a new bunch of baby chicks is what I need! I was thinking of Light Sussex because I need duel purpose birds. I have the "pet" ones but DH is right when he says we can;t have anymore pet hens. These ones are getting a bit older and are not laying quite as well as they should but of course free loaders are costly and not financially viable. - Ok I am talking myself into meat birds!
Thing is you hear such horror stories of how chickens are treated and also how the meat is treated after they are put into the food chain. So I think I would like to "know!" my birds have had a great happy life and produce really good quality meat! So I was thinkign of the light sussex because they are totally different to "my Girls" no chance of getting them muddled. Though my son has a light sussex so I have a leg band for her if she comes to stay so she doesn;t get mixed up with the MEAT ones! - I was also thinking of starting some Ducklings off. - Again duel purpose and Aylesbury Ducks are the ones I want to go for. "Jermima puddle duck" type!!!! Though I have never owned ducks and am not sure what to feed them???? Or anything else - so have to go to the other birds bit and swat up! If anyone wants to PM me with info if they have had these, that would also be good if anyone know about Ducks? - I know they take 30 days to hatch and you can put them under a broody hen. - Also that it isn;t a good idea the other way round. - As mumma Duck tends to take baby ducklings into water and the chicken babies follow them and of course they can't swim! We had friends who lost all their chicks that way! Found them floating in the duck pond with a very upset bewildered mumma duck wondering what happend to her babies? ooops?

Hope you get your chicks ok and they are safe.

Oes

 

[B J Hopkins]

I'm hope my Broody hen does better than the eggs I've got going in the incubator!! Started out w/13 eggs from my chickens and 18 EE eggs from a friend. Of my 13 I have 3 mixed Cochin & 2 Silky eggs left. The others were sterile.

Of the 18 EE eggs I've 10 left. 7 were sterile and one I THOUGHT was sterile was actually good

.

So, like I said, hope my Broody has a better hatch rate!!

 

[mychookschick]

Hey guys! Just wanted to say that I ended up leaving her there, and she hatched one chick yesterday! I found one that was so close to being out of the shell and then the Momma got up and shrink wrapped it...

But she is still sitting, so I am wondering how long I should leave her there? At what point should I move her and the chick to the cage in the coop?

Thanks!

 

[bobbi-j]

Leave her alone for at least a couple of days to give the rest of the eggs a chance to hatch. You need to leave her alone so she stays on the nest.

 

[mychookschick]

OK, thanks! So like for 4 days (so it would be day 25)? The only thing that I bug her for is to refill food and water. I also switched out her normal layer pellets for medicated chick mash....

 

[oesdog]

OK, thanks! So like for 4 days (so it would be day 25)? The only thing that I bug her for is to refill food and water. I also switched out her normal layer pellets for medicated chick mash....

She will decide WHEN it is time to leave the nest with that Chick. - I would leave her well alone. There can be 1-4 or 5 days difference in hatchings of chicks. She will know when it is time to give up on the others. I reckon about 3/4 days so around 25 days for sure. I had chicks hatch later 26 and 27 days but that is rare and they didn;t hatch without help and they were incubator not broody eggs so I am pretty much sure your Hen will know if there is aything alive inside the eggs. My broody hen did and she got off at about 3 days after the first was hatched. Usually once off they don;t want to go back so DONT DISTURB HER!!!!!!!!!!

Oes - Good luck we need pics of course!!!!! in a few days!!!!!!

 

[mychookschick]

OK... Thank you OES! I have been taking her and the chick food and water, and she is good about letting me handle her. So, I will try to get pics tonight. She is the best!