Gone Broody

[trafficgal]

So here is the situation one of my hens has "gone broody" but we got rid of our rooster about a month ago... I'm ok with letting her hatch eggs (though we were not planing to have chicks yet... BUT is it even possible that the eggs are still fertilized?

I have no idea how many eggs are under her she tries to bite my hand off if I try to remove them... I'd love to give her fresh hay in there but dont know how...

anyway my questions:
1) can they be fertile eggs still?

2) if so what do I do for her does she need anything extra while sitting on the eggs?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

1 - the chances of the eggs being fertile are extremely slim - not impossible, but highly unlikely. IF you want to hatch chicks I would suggest obtaining some hatching eggs from someone who has eggs that are much more likely to be fertile. Leaving eggs that are not fertile under her is likely to end up an a stinky, nasty result for all involved. If nothing else, leave them for a few more days and then candle them and you will know if they are fertile/developing or not.

2 - no, she just needs to have access to food and water - she will leave her nest 1-2 times a day for a quick eat, drink and poo visit

The other issue is that, if you have more hens around, you need to move her off the nest (leather gloves are great) and mark any eggs you are going to leave so that you can check the nest daily and remove any new eggs that are donated by the other hens in the flock(quite common).

 

[trafficgal]

How do you candle the eggs? If I take them to candle them will she except them back or just give up and move on?

She has been siting on them since Friday how many days do I wait?

 

[trafficgal]

Also I was planing to deworm my whole flock starting today will that be bad for her?

 

[pcdawn2000]

Ol Grey Mare so glad I found this thread and you comments!!!

I have a hen that has gone broody, this is my first experience with it! (Fingers crossed)

Anyway I do not have a roo so I am going tomorrow to buy some fertile eggs from someone I know and going to let her sit on them. I see that she just needs her normal access to water and food for the obvious reasons, but my question is......

Once the chicks are hatched what do I need to do for them if anything? Will she do all the work? will I need to separate them from her or just let nature do its thing? Maybe provide water in small dish and chick feed??

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I got my 6 girls as pullets so like I said I am new to this part of Back Yard Chickens!

THANKS!