HELP pullet laid her first eggs in unsafe spot, out of Coop

[MarlaKaye]

Hey all you great people, This is kinda exciting cause we didn't even know she was laying till DH went looking for her cause she ddnt go n2 coop. Discovered her out two mornings in a row.

Now he goes under the coop and finds she has made a lovely next in a box he put under there in the harshest of winter so they could have somewhere to go when they didn't want to go into the coop during the day.

The flock has the alpha roo, and two smaller roos. and there are three hens so far. I'm raising more hens inside yet to introduce to the flock when they are big enough.

under the coop is not safe because possums and coons have gotten into the chicken yard, so she would be in peril there.

DH, is all upset and concerned, cause he "didn't plan on this".
Well he did plan for it, by building nesting boxes in the coup, but didn't know it was time so didn't put in nesting material.

It's dark now, so he brought her inside. His daddy heart could not stand the idea of putting her in the coop with the others since she is a Mama now.

Dilema:
will it be ok to put her in the coupe with the nesting material she has chosen in the morning.
And she has 12 eggs" Dh says she can't handle that many to hatch them because she is so small. I said she has wings to cover them all. He has an incubator going and wants to take all but four from her and put them in the incubator. I say, let her raise her own.
With 12 eggs and her not sitting on them much of the day when we have been outside, will any of them survive?

This is our first time to deal with this, and I know this forum is for medical emergencies, but I need answers fast, so I consider it an emergency.

For now she is cozy inside, with her nest and eggs.
Next concern is she has not been given laying crumbles because we didn't know she was ready for it. `12 eggs, wow, were did she get the calcium for that. Did it weaken her so much that she is in jeapardy. I wasn't outside with them today, but yesterday, I commented that she looked like she was trying to lay an egg. Now I ask myself if it was that and/or is she sick from loss of calcium. and how do we get her to eat?

I am startled and worried while at the same time happy at the prospect of being a grandma.... :d

Hubby brought her some corn just now, so I am going to go feed it to her, she loves fresh corn out of the cann or freezer.
Advice please, Shaking in my boots in Kansas!
MarlaKaye

 

[tiki244]

Well she probably got calcium from her bones, but she is still young so there hasnt been too much dammage done. Just make sure she gets calcium asap. If you want her to successfully brood the eggs, I suggest that you put her in an enclosed area away from all other chickens, and give her her own food and water dish. A pen in the coop would be fine, just keep the door shut so the other chickens cant get to her. She probably wont hatch all 12, but she sure can try. If he wants to incubate some than I say go ahead and let him. You can always slip some chicks under her at night in 21 days and she will more than likely accept them. I would also start feeding her grains mixed with her chicken chow. Probably not a good idea to give her too much just straight corn. It could make her too fat. Which would not be good for her, but a little is fine. I think it makes a firmer poop, which you will want. Because broody poop is large and stinky and you do not want it to be loose. Good Luck.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Is she broody? Has she been under the coop for two days, including during the day? At one egg a day, if she has twelve eggs, then she hasn't been sitting on them for 10 of the days.

Hopefully someone with more experience will post an answer for you. I can tell you what I think they would say, but it would be better coming straight from them.

 

[MarlaKaye]

Well I can imagine what you are thinking, I am probably thinking the same thing.
Yes she is broody, she is on them now. I'm thinking some of those eggs are too old, but have no idea which ones of course. I will candle them as soon as is feasible, and throw out the ones that don't look good, or let hubby incubate them another week.
I'm glad to know it is ok to separate her from the others as that is our instinct. She is so cute in her box now sitting on the eggs. Some of those eggs may still be viable so I don't want to prevent her from raising what she can. It is our most beautiful rooster the Alpha Male who mated with her.
This will be our first broody hen, so it is very new and exciting to us. They are sitll little chicks to us, but now she is going to be a mama. Which makes me think, I wonder about the other two grown hens. Maybe they are laying tooo. Hubbie will go inside and check the boxes in the morning.
Are these all her eggs only? is it possible that one of the other two Pullet/hens has been laying in the same place? Hmmmm, questions they keep popping.

 

[tiki244]

It could be possible more than one is laying. I think all the eggs could be good. This is what they do in nature, lay eggs till they get a bunch and then brood them. I was more thinking of her size being able to cover them all. She will probably have a high success rate of hatching if she doesnt do anything stupid like abandon the nest. Keeping her in a quiet place and not disturbing her would help her. You could also feed her an cooked egg or two along the way because brooding is hard work and she probably wont eat much.

 

[MarlaKaye]

If we keep her inside am I teaching her and the others that they get to have thier gestation in the house. I can't do that all the time. If I put her in the coop, do you think the younger roos or the father roo will bother her or her eggs?
If I put them all in the roost together will one of the other pullets claim the eggs as thier own?

I have a wyandotte normal size, and a buff Bantam. This little girl is a goldlaced bantam..

I agree that there should be more than one bird to have deposited 12 eggs, So will the buff bantam take turns with the gold laced bantam or will the eggs all get forgotten in a squabble.

I don't want to assume they will squabble, what if they are able to work it out together? Don't tell me I am silly, I know that sounds silly, but there is a .4 percent chance that it could happen, if not here then maybe on Mars 20 million years ago. HUh? HUHHHH?

It is not right for her to have to leave her home because the younger roos might bother her. Actually they are very nice and tame, I raised them by hand myself. But then again Can't assume anything either way. If better safe than sorry, then I would lock them all up when they get broody. So then why did we build in Nests in the coop?

I hope you all understand here, I am dealing with a hubbie who is twisted over these little dilemas, and have found that I can't trust my own judgement either when I get emotionally invovled. I must have gotten old lately.

I told DH, they are just eggs, we don't need to get ourselves all upset about this, and he said, no they aren't just eggs, they are special eggs from special chickens!

I think he was satisfied somewhat when I checked the calender and told him the world doesn't end till next week, Just relax, we will see how it turns out.

If anyone has a good idea, let me know, PLEAASE!
lUV YA'ALL,
MarlaKaye

 

[Chickenaddict]

WHenever i have a broody i bring her in the house and set her up in a nice box. WHat works great for me is most of my hens are potty trained while broody meaning they won't poop in their box and require to be taken outside to do their business. This way i don't risk having a hen take a broody dump on her eggs (which has happened) and i don't have that god aweful smell stinking up the whole house. I just simply take them out a few times a day, ruffle the feathers to get things "moving" and when they are thru back in the box they go. If you kept her in the coop with others mark the eggs under her because chances are others will continue to add to her nest. You don't have to bring her in but it is easier to ensure she is setting on them without getting interrupted by the rest of the flock. The roosters don't usually bother with broodies. Other hens however will bother her. Unless they are broody too they will only steal her nest to lay another egg in there and then she should get back on the nest

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:

I'll have to remember that line!

I would do as suggested, temporarily fence a portion of the coop and run, so the others are there but can't harass her. Being her first eggs, I would probably toss all but 2-3 of the freshest and let her start over. And start the layer feed and oyster shell asap. I know DH doesn't want to, but she is young for this. Good luck!

 

[MarlaKaye]

ok Sally Dear, come by this afternoon and tell me which ones are the freshest eggs and I will do as you recomend. Love ya, got my tounge stuck in my cheek,
MarlaKaye (hug)

 

[tiki244]

You can candle for freshness. The ones with the smallest aircells are the freshest.