How long should I let her sit for? Pleeeeease help!!!

[poupoule]

Hi,

My silkie has been sitting on 5 eggs for 21 days today, but .....still nothing

I looked at the eggs a week 1 and all had some development in them. I also looked last week, and from what I could see (not much really!) it looked ok. I was expecting them to hatched around day 19 (just like my bantam). It is the first time she sits: she is only 8 months old. How much longer should I wait? Is ther a way I can check if the chicks 'to be' are still alive?

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Give her another day or two at least...just like incubator eggs, they can go over a couple of days...

 

[poupoule]

Thanks. I supposed I need to be a little bit more patient (but it has already been 3 weeks!!!!). So what should I do (I am considering the worse now) if by day 25 notinh has happened?

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

well, as long as you are feeding her in her nest box and she isn't getting too thin, you could replace her eggs, even with just 1 or 2 new fertile eggs...that's what I'm looking at doing in the next day or two with my broody silkie...

 

[Kittymomma]

If the worst happens and you don't have any hatch see if you can get some day-old chicks and swap them out for the dud eggs after dark. Don't give up yet though, you're still in the normal range for a hatch.

 

[poupoule]

But that will means she'll be sitting for another 3 weeks! Poor little darling

She is getting a little thin, but I put somesaocked bread every day in front og her nest and she eats it. May be I could put a bit more. What is the worse situation, being depressed from not having babies after waiting for that long, or sitting for another 3 weeks?

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

PLEASE put her regular food in her nest box with her. Eating nothing but bread for weeks on end is a bigger problem than sitting on eggs for another 3 weeks. Or like the other person said - see if you can find some day old chicks (I've read anything up to 3 days old) and swap them out for the eggs at night. I've done that for a friend's broody with some chicks I had (don't know why I didn't think of it actually) and she took them no problem.

 

[poupoule]

Thanks for the advice. I'll see if I can find some day old chicks by next week if nothing happened. Just a question. What is wrong about feeding bread?

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
It's not so much that she'll be depressed, but that she won't give up sitting and it can be bad for her health to stay on the nest for that long. Like the other poster said, give her something healthier to eat than bread. I'd put some layer or better yet higher protien grower mix in front of her. Scrambled eggs are a good high-protien treat that might tempt her to eat as well.

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
It's ok for a treat, but is basically junk food for chickens. She's probably not eating very much anyhow while she's broody so it's important that what she does eat is good for her.