How hands off can you be with eggs under a broody?

[Glory to His name]

Just put some eggs under a hen that hasn’t laid or left the next box the last few days.
I haven’t hatched under a broody before. Do I ~have~ to candle the eggs? Or can I just let her do her thing?

 

[aart]

First you need to mark the eggs you want her to hatch, then check daily that other eggs have not been laid by other layers that have access to the nest, to avoid a staggered hatch.

Might be good to candle once or twice, just to make sure the eggs are developing.

 

[Glory to His name]

First you need to mark the eggs you want her to hatch, then check daily that other eggs have not been laid by other layers that have access to the nest, to avoid a staggered hatch.

Might be good to candle once or twice, just to make sure the eggs are developing.

I did mark the eggs, and will plan on checking daily to remove any new ones.

Do you take all the eggs at once inside to candle? And she has no problem with that? Or head out to the coop with a flashlight at night?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Personally I never candle eggs under a broody hen. I don't think there is anything wrong with candling, it's just inconvenient. I candle my incubator eggs twice, at 7 days and at lockdown. At 7 days is just for curiosity, I don't toss any then. I toss the clears at lockdown to get them out of the way so I can better concentrate on the others during hatch.

 

[aart]

Or head out to the coop with a flashlight at night?

Yes.
And usually only check a few of them.

 

[Glory to His name]

Personally I never candle eggs under a broody hen. I don't think there is anything wrong with candling, it's just inconvenient. I candle my incubator eggs twice, at 7 days and at lockdown. At 7 days is just for curiosity, I don't toss any then. I toss the clears at lockdown to get them out of the way so I can better concentrate on the others during hatch.

Yeah, trying to work out the logistics and it seems so much more of a hassle than candling the incubator eggs. I think I’ll just try to leave her be. Thank you!

 

[LonestarVol]

Personally, we mark the eggs we want to hatch, check daily to see if there are any additional eggs under momma and then let nature take its course. We let the broody hen remain in whichever nesting box she chooses. We have moved a broody hen to a different box before, but often had to relocate her a few times a day. At day 18 or 19 we move the broody and her clutch to a larger, private area. Three days after hatching, they all go to our bigger chick enclosure with momma. In our experience, if all the eggs don't hatch within three days, momma abandons the unhatched eggs. Those get moved to an incubator for another week, just in case. At about 4 - 6 weeks, they are out and free-ranging with the rest of the flock. The first pic is the community chick enclosure. The second is momma's private spot until the chicks are three days old.

 

[sdm111]

I don't do anything after. Mine if they sence something is wrong with an egg she will kick it out the nest. So if you see an out of place egg out the nest it's probably bad

 

[LonestarVol]

Personally, we mark the eggs we want to hatch, check daily to see if there are any additional eggs under momma and then let nature take its course. We let the broody hen remain in whichever nesting box she chooses. We have moved a broody hen to a different box before, but often had to relocate her a few times a day. At day 18 or 19 we move the broody and her clutch to a larger, private area. Three days after hatching, they all go to our bigger chick enclosure with momma. In our experience, if all the eggs don't hatch within three days, momma abandons the unhatched eggs. Those get moved to an incubator for another week, just in case. At about 4 - 6 weeks, they are out and free-ranging with the rest of the flock. The first pic is the community chick enclosure. The second is momma's private spot until the chicks are three days old. View attachment 3888268View attachment 3888270

Also, right now we're at 14 / 20 success rate.

 

[sdm111]

Also if she Crack one I use clear fingernail polish over the cracks then rub it with dirt to cover up the stickiness and put it back when it's dry. Having an egg out for a while is fine. I had a hen that I swear knew just how long she could be off the nest and the eggs still live. It was like she was always off the nest and she consistently hatched 100%