how many eggs under a broody

[catterbug]

I am trying to find fertilized eggs to make my broody chicken happy and to teach my kids how chickens grow up with a mommy chicken. Plus I think it will be way cute to watch. Anyways, how many eggs do you think I could put under her. She is an EE that has been broody for about a week or so.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That depends on a few things. Not all chickens are the same size. Not all eggs are the same size, A small bantam may have trouble handling more than three or four eggs from full-sized fowl. A large hen may be able to handle 15 or more. The hen needs to be able to cover all the eggs you give her. Otherwise some can get shoved out and cool off, either dying or having hatching delayed so long the hen abandons them, leaving the nest with the chicks that have already hatched. If you have more eggs than she can cover, you usually get really bad hatches. So size of the hen and eggs is very important.

How many chicks can you handle? Realize several will probably be roosters. Often all the eggs you put under her don't hatch, but most should. Sometimes all of them do hatch. So how many chicks can you handle?

I normally put 12 full sized eggs under a full sized broody, but I want all the chicks she will hatch, male or female. I have room and a use for all of them. I consider 12 a good number since she still has some extra room if another hen lays en egg under her.

I have had things happen to some of the eggs under a broody. It's fairly rare, but I have had a couple of the eggs get broken. That can happen for different reasons. From what I've seen, that is usually related to the egg shells being weak to start with.

I have had a hen raise 15 chicks, some from an incubator. I remember a hen hiding a nest and hatching 18 chicks back on the farm many decades ago. They can often handle more, but I consider 12 a good compromise. Since some might not hatch, I'd probably consider 4 a minimum so you have a good chance of getting some chicks.

Good luck!! It is certainly exciting.

 

[Judy]

Probably around 6 or 8; it depends on her size and how well she covers them. You could get 10 or so, in case she breaks some in moving them around.