hatching eggs with a broody hen in Feb

[hawkeye]

i have a hen thats broody but the weather is still very cold in Michigan 20- 30 deg f , if i put eggs under her will i have to bring her into a warmer place so the eggs do not get cold if she gets off to feed. i have one out side koop 12 hens all Marons.
i am new at chicken breeding

 

[MareeZoCool]

I only wish I could help you! I'm in Ohio, my hen is setting too. I'm looking for the experienced chicken lovers to advise us - hope we see an answer soon!

I have seen advice to bring the hen, nest & eggs into a warm place. Not possible here, hubby won't allow my bringing the hen in the house, darnnit!

 

[BirdBrain]

Can you bring them into the garage?

 

[Southernbelle]

I've had broody hens in the middle of winter before and I always let them brood outside in the freezing temperatures (down to 6* last winter) in my non-insulated coop. They do fine! Just make sure her nesting spot has lots of dry shavings/hay/straw to help insulate against the cold and make sure she's out of the wind. They do a great job of regulating their own body temperature which in turn keeps the eggs plenty warm. She and the babies can stay outside once they hatch, too, they'll just tuck under mama when they get cold.

I usually put my broodies in a dog crate or the old brooder box with food and water to keep the other hens from bothering her or laying more eggs in her nest. If you move her or mess with her too much it may break her of being broody.

Congratulations on your new broody! I love broody hens!

 

[Jenski]

I have had one or two try to go broody - - I am waiting until the weather is warmer to set eggs this year. Hatching in cold weather is just too stressful for me, and I never could find any true advantage to early-born chicks. The chicks can't go outside and play when it's super cold, and it just seems more natural to me to have little ones running around when the flowers are out and the birds are chirping.

Just my two cents. Good luck with your hatching, and please keep us posted on how things go!

 

[Chicken D's mom]

I have a broody Japanese bantam named Suzie here in Nebraska. Today is the Hatch Date!! I thought February was too early also, but back in January, my little black cochin hen named Kiwi died suddenly one day.

It just so happened that she had laid an egg that same morning and one two or three days before.

We left her eggs alone and a couple of days later Suzie started laying her eggs next to Kiwi's. Suzie laid 9 eggs then began brooding exactly two weeks to the day Kiwi died. A couple of days later, Suzie destroyed one of Kiwi's eggs and the coop smelled like rotten egg that morning. But she continued to brood on her 9 eggs and Kiwi's last remaining egg.

We were very attached to Kiwi and many tears were shed when she died....still don't know what happened to her other than her vent was prolapsed slightly, which I believe caused her to become sick. She fell off of her perch and broke her neck...

Anyway, Suzie took over her egg, which is brown and Suzie's are white. So, this brood is important to us for Kiwi's sake!!
I keep checking every hour, but nothing yet:/

 

[NanaKat]

I moved Nellie and her nest with eggs into a cage next to the hen box. Then attached a 60 watt light outside the cage pointed towards the nest. With food and water in the cage, Nellie did great. She hatched 4 live chicks from nine eggs. They are 10 days old now.

 

[hawkeye]

thanks guy, you make this new hobby a lot less stressful .
i think i will let her sit and see how things turn out she has picked an end box out of the way.

 

[mysilkiebrood]

i need some help my japanese silkies feel the need to lay eggs in the winter, i am in north carolina and it has been very cold this winter...today i discovered one hen sitting on eggs.....i also found several eggs in the coop....some eggs were very small the size of a quarter.....my question will the hen be able to hatch the eggs??....and why do some of the eggs appear to be much smaller than the others? do i need to do something with them??

 

[LyonFuzz]

Hawkeye, I too am from MI and have a broody silkie sitting on what I think are fertile bantam ameraucana eggs I do heat my coop and keep it clean and deep with wood shavings. I've never done this before, so I guess we'll see what happens. If I feel they are not tolerating the cold, I have the option of bringing them inside if need be. Do you have a projected hatch date?