Hen sitting on eggs, what do I need to do?

[kpborkowski]

Our pekin bantam has just gone broody and a friend of ours has given us 5 fertile eggs for her to sit on and see if they hatch. We have never hatched any of our own chicks before so I have a few questions:

It has so far been 3 days and I haven't seen her leave the nest to drink, eat or poo. I have offered her food and water whilst she was still sitting on the eggs and she gladly took it, should I continue to do this or just leave her be?

Silly question but will she continue to lay her own eggs?

Should I take the eggs out and candle them, or just let nature take its course. I would just hate for her to have to sit there for 3 weeks and nothing happen.

Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[Mahonri]

If it were me, I'd offer her a little food and water, if she's truly broody then she has quit laying, and then you pray she doesn't poop in the nest and just let nature take it's course.

Good luck.... those little chicks are fun.

M,

 

[twigg]

Just leave her be.

Have food and water close by, and make sure she is protected from predators.

She will do the rest.

 

[jhm47]

It's best not to offer broody hens feed/water while they are on their nest. Hunger and thirst will force them to leave the nest, and then they will eliminate their feces. Some will be off their nests only for a very few minutes, and some will stay off for up to an hour. The hens know what they are doing.

When dealing with broody hens, "less is more". The less you interfere, the better the outcome. The same holds true for after the hatch.

Be sure that the chicks have access to water and feed that they can easily reach. You don't need to have their environment at 95 degrees, like you do when they don't have a mother. They will come out from under their hen, eat, drink, and dart back under mom when they begin to get cold. I have had hens raise chicks just fine when the temps were below freezing. No supplemental heat required. Good luck!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

make sure that she has food and water close to her. That way she doesnt need to go far to get it. Also, you could put some vitamins and electrolytes into the water for her. With my silkies, I need to lift them off the eggs every 3-5 days to eat and drink, otherwise they wont get up.