I have a broody hen. The eggs are due to hatch this coming week. Each week she has moved from one nest into another. The first time it happened, the eggs were only three days old. My daughter gathered eggs that day, and didn't know she had moved nests. So she brought them in. I knew the colors I had under her, but couldn't candle them! The shells were too dark. So I started opening eggs, and by elimination, was able to find 4 of the original 5 to put back under her. One that I opened, a beautiful dark chocolate brown egg, had a beating heart in it.
Things have been moving along quite nicely. She comes off the nest once a day, and eats, drinks, poops, and back to the nest. Growling at ANYTHING that comes near her nest.
Yesterday, she moved to another nest. My son comes in with 6 green eggs, and says he got 27 eggs! Whoa! I don't get 6 green eggs a day! Again, Broody had moved nests, and my son thought she moved the eggs with her. She did have eggs in her new nest, but not her eggs. So again, we tried candling. Could see nothing. Tried using the spot light. Nothing. I started cracking eggs. One a fully formed white chick. It was cold, and dead. I now have 5 laying a dark chocolate brown egg. I needed to find that one before some innocent customer ended up with it. Unfortunately, I found it. A beautiful, solid black chicky. It was much smaller than the white chick.
Of course, now dead as well. I had 4 green eggs that I wasn't certain which belonged under her. She had 3 green ones under her, and since the odds of me finding another chick were too great, I put all 4 back under her.
I am so upset. It was just awful!!! I killed two chickies, all because I didn't have a safe enough place to isolate Broody. I knew she needed to be away from the rest, but my coop is fort knox, and nowhere else is. I was afraid that with her in a cage, something would get her. I did try putting her in the large dog cage, and inside the coop, but my mini daschie was pestering her! I had the cage on the floor, because I had nowhere to put it up higher. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
So to learn from my mistake, whenever you have a broody, MARK THOSE EGGS! Put an X on them with a pencil, or something.
Instead of immediately dismissing places to put her, USE YOUR BRAIN! A simple wooden table in the coop would have held the cage, along with the nest, and broody, and therefore the dogs couldn't have pestered her, and yet she would be safe at night too.
I can't believe I didnt' think of either of those two things before.
Uggh! Live and learn.....
Things have been moving along quite nicely. She comes off the nest once a day, and eats, drinks, poops, and back to the nest. Growling at ANYTHING that comes near her nest.
Yesterday, she moved to another nest. My son comes in with 6 green eggs, and says he got 27 eggs! Whoa! I don't get 6 green eggs a day! Again, Broody had moved nests, and my son thought she moved the eggs with her. She did have eggs in her new nest, but not her eggs. So again, we tried candling. Could see nothing. Tried using the spot light. Nothing. I started cracking eggs. One a fully formed white chick. It was cold, and dead. I now have 5 laying a dark chocolate brown egg. I needed to find that one before some innocent customer ended up with it. Unfortunately, I found it. A beautiful, solid black chicky. It was much smaller than the white chick.
I am so upset. It was just awful!!! I killed two chickies, all because I didn't have a safe enough place to isolate Broody. I knew she needed to be away from the rest, but my coop is fort knox, and nowhere else is. I was afraid that with her in a cage, something would get her. I did try putting her in the large dog cage, and inside the coop, but my mini daschie was pestering her! I had the cage on the floor, because I had nowhere to put it up higher. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
So to learn from my mistake, whenever you have a broody, MARK THOSE EGGS! Put an X on them with a pencil, or something.
Instead of immediately dismissing places to put her, USE YOUR BRAIN! A simple wooden table in the coop would have held the cage, along with the nest, and broody, and therefore the dogs couldn't have pestered her, and yet she would be safe at night too.
I can't believe I didnt' think of either of those two things before.
Uggh! Live and learn.....
