I'm using BYC for therapy Right now I have 4 broody hens, 3 of them are smashed in the same nest box. They are bantam Xs so they can fit... sort of.
I had some shipped eggs that I really didn't have high expectations of. It was very cold here when they were shipped and they ended up sitting in the Post Office for a few days before I could pick them up. The eggs are some sort of Olive Egger project eggs so they are too dark to candle. I started them in my Brinsea. Then as I had chicken after chicken succumb to broodiness I decided to let them do the work so I could fill my incubator up with turkey eggs.
Today is hatching day and I'm stressed. I went out and heard one of the eggs peeping up a storm. Then hen is only sitting on one fertile egg. I saw the pip, heard the peeping and freaked out convinced the chick was in distress. I'm a firefighter & EMT, so I have those rescue instincts, however they don't translate to chickens necessarily. I rushed the egg inside and removed part of the shell and membrane, then reached a vessel that bleed a little and stopped myself. I put the peeping egg and chick back under the hen and banned myself from the coop.
There is one other pipped egg under another hen. The other eggs didn't appear to have pipped yet. I think there are only about 5 or 6 potential hatching eggs under the 4 hens.
I've had chickens on and off for a decade but this is my first time having broody hens hatch for me. I guess it's hard for me to just sit back and wait. Even though I know it's what they do, part of me doesn't trust them.
I'm glad only 5 of my chickens are bantams. I'd heard about the legendary broodiness but never witnessed it first hand. I took a trip and my parents took care of my animals. I forgot to tell them to gather eggs because at that time my bantams were laying pretty much an egg a day this being their first spring, my dad said it occurred to him to check after a few days and he found a hen aggressively trying to cover a huge pile of 20+ eggs. I think by that time "Egg Fever" had spread to 4 out of 5 of my bantam mutts and there was no hope for them.
I hope some chicks hatch. Then I'll be in a confused panic about how to support some mother hens. If eggs don't hatch how do I break up the broodys? They need a break right? Could I give them Turkey eggs to hatch? That would be another month. I need to learn more about broody hens. Any help would be appreciated.
I had some shipped eggs that I really didn't have high expectations of. It was very cold here when they were shipped and they ended up sitting in the Post Office for a few days before I could pick them up. The eggs are some sort of Olive Egger project eggs so they are too dark to candle. I started them in my Brinsea. Then as I had chicken after chicken succumb to broodiness I decided to let them do the work so I could fill my incubator up with turkey eggs.
Today is hatching day and I'm stressed. I went out and heard one of the eggs peeping up a storm. Then hen is only sitting on one fertile egg. I saw the pip, heard the peeping and freaked out convinced the chick was in distress. I'm a firefighter & EMT, so I have those rescue instincts, however they don't translate to chickens necessarily. I rushed the egg inside and removed part of the shell and membrane, then reached a vessel that bleed a little and stopped myself. I put the peeping egg and chick back under the hen and banned myself from the coop.
There is one other pipped egg under another hen. The other eggs didn't appear to have pipped yet. I think there are only about 5 or 6 potential hatching eggs under the 4 hens.
I've had chickens on and off for a decade but this is my first time having broody hens hatch for me. I guess it's hard for me to just sit back and wait. Even though I know it's what they do, part of me doesn't trust them.
I'm glad only 5 of my chickens are bantams. I'd heard about the legendary broodiness but never witnessed it first hand. I took a trip and my parents took care of my animals. I forgot to tell them to gather eggs because at that time my bantams were laying pretty much an egg a day this being their first spring, my dad said it occurred to him to check after a few days and he found a hen aggressively trying to cover a huge pile of 20+ eggs. I think by that time "Egg Fever" had spread to 4 out of 5 of my bantam mutts and there was no hope for them.
I hope some chicks hatch. Then I'll be in a confused panic about how to support some mother hens. If eggs don't hatch how do I break up the broodys? They need a break right? Could I give them Turkey eggs to hatch? That would be another month. I need to learn more about broody hens. Any help would be appreciated.
