How many eggs can I fit under my broody?

[LaSombra]

She's a blue orpington and these are regular-sized standard eggs. She sat on just 2 eggs before and they both developed. One made it to chick-hood. I now have her on 7 eggs and she's doing fine with those. They're all candling well. Thing is, I won an ebay auction for 6+ eggs and they'll be here in about a week. Those other eggs will only be about 10 days in toward hatching. Can I slip these new ones under her and have them still fit? I suppose by then, I might have to cull a few eggs that aren't developing anyway, but it still makes me wonder as to how many would be her limit...

any idea?

 

[Marlinchaser]

I think she should be able to cover 12-18 eggs, maybe more, but what are you gonna do when the first set hatch and she abandons the eggs you just won. Broodies will not remain on the nest more than a couple days after the first ones hatch.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

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marlinchaser is right, unless you remove the hatchlings as soon as they hatch but that doesn't always work, depends on the hen, how broody she is, and how fast you remove the chicks.

 

[LaSombra]

Well, the last chick hatched on Monday and she didn't want it, tried to kill it, so I took it out and straight to the brooder. She was still broody on Tuesday and that's why I put more eggs under her. She's still brooding well. She gets up every morning and eats/drinks/poos/preens and then straight back to the nest. When she went broody at first, she didn't even have any eggs under her, just wanted to brood for no apparent reason. That's why I gave her the 2 eggs. She seems to really like brooding but not mothering...

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

you have what called a persistent broody, I had one that did that for 3 months, the minute the eggs hatched she kicked out the chick and didn't want it, if you keep an eye on her she will keep going for awhile, but remember one day she just get up and leave the nest behind

 

[LaSombra]

Quote:
yeah, and can only hope she doesn't do it in the middle of egg development! I would have rather had her take care of the chicks so I wouldn't have to but it's not like I haven't raised chicks before. I think that I'll get an incubator this week as backup just in case she doesn't finish. I'd hate to lose them half-way through... or almost all the way through!

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

I broke my 3 month one because she was getting skinny and I didn't want to lose her, she would still be broody

 

[LaSombra]

quick question: Will she always brood this way or is it just something that happens once-in-a-while? She's only 7 months old and I kinda wonder if it's because she's so young...or maybe because it's winter, something like that.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

you never know, had one brood once and never go again, but my long term one came back after one month or so

 

[LaSombra]

Thanks for your help

I guess I will just play it by ear, see how it goes. I'd rather not have to use the incubator but if she quits, that's what I'll have to do

... unless someone else goes broody, anyway