I need a little adviseon my experiment

[gpamela3499]

1st a little background
On May 3rd I had two broody hens among my 15. I asked the Father at our parish church for a few fertile eggs to put under them. ( I have no roosters) I asked for some green eggs from him. He gave me nine eggs. I put 5 under the silkie as they have a reputation for being good mothers and 4 under my cochin. The silkie kept a dirty nest, her eggs were always poop coated (I did not want to wipe them fearing too much handling might mess up development and looks really run down. The cochin leaves the nest a lot. There has been a foul smell in the coop for about a week. Of the eggs 1disappeared, 2 were eaten by other hens, 1 rolled out from under the hen and got cold. There were two under the silkie and three under the cochin.

This morning I went out to check the girls and gather eggs. In the corner I hear peeping and see a black something in the straw. I pick it up and it is a little chick but both the broody hens have run outside like they do every morning for food and water. I look in the closest nest which is the silkie nest and it still had 2 eggs. then I look in the cochin nest and there are only 2 and a shell. It must have some how gotten across the coop from the cochin nest. When I put the baby under the cochin she pecked it. So I put the baby under the silkie.
I also looked at the other eggs under the cochin and heard pees and felt movement. So I left them alone. I looked at the silkie nest and felt and heard nothing and they stank. I threw them on the ground and they were rotten. That was a stupid mistake. The other chickens ran straight to them and ate the mess.
1st question
If I eat eggs from those chickens that ate the mess, will I get sick?

I started thinking the silkie nest might be too polluted for the little chick so I moved the silkie and the chick to another small straw container filled container.
2nd question
Was this a bad thing to do?

3rd question
Will the cochin peck at the 2 pips that are yet to hatch should I remove them also?

 

[paddock36]

To attempt to answer your questions, and first I should say I'm no expert, but I don't think you will get sick from eating eggs that the other hens lay after they ate the rotten eggs because chickens eat a bunch of bugs and things anyway. Second, since you already moved the Silkie hen then it's too late anyway, so I would worry about it any further. Third, I can only say keep an eye on the Cochin. Sometimes hens will hatch the eggs but they are no good at being mothers. She might have been trying to peck at you but got the chick instead because it was moving around. If you give her chicks you should put them under her not just in front of her. Maybe that helps a little. I hope so and good luck.

 

[Camille13]

I have very little experience on this subject, but I also had a broody hen who just hatched one egg out of 5. The others either didn't develop, or didn't make it. I have a feeling that unless your chickens get sick, you won't get sick. Especially if you cook the eggs well. That should kill off any pathogens that might make YOU sick.
As for the hen/chick situation, I would try moving silkie/baby to a new location, and watch them for a while, and monitor to make sure they still are doing well together. After my hen hatched the first egg, it was two days before I disposed of the rest of the eggs (also, soupy messes inside of most of them!) Today, I moved the mama hen and baby into a larger part of the coop as they were just in the nest box. They were fine with the transition. I just added some chicks tonight, and she just puffed up and accommodated them. So if the cochin rejects any others that hatch, and the silkie is still mothering them, I would try continuing to put them under her. I have been doing a ton of reading on all of this. But like I said, I am new to the broody hen as a brooder thing too. Good luck!

 

[Mahonri]

I'd put the two good eggs under the silkie with the chick. Don't worry about eating the eggs. Always put bad eggs in a plastic bag and put them in the garbage... those rotton eggs will really draw in the flies.

 

[gpamela3499]

Thank you all for the advise. We are hoping for hens that will lay green eggs.

Yeah throwing the eggs on the ground was a stupid move on my part. I got none of it on me but still had to shower becoause the smell got into my skin it was so bad. Even after I changed clothes for church my kids said they could still smell it on me. After a shower I was fine but the coop and the run smell very bad and the flies are swarming over the spot even after it was covered in dirt.

 

[gpamela3499]

Mahonri,
On a side note I love what your governor had to say to LA about their boycott of Arizona

That really had me laughing

 

[ShannonS79]

Quote:
Camille!! I'm so happy to hear that she puffed up and just took them under. I think I'll need to come by and visit my little silkie, Buddha is such a good mommy hen. I still haven't told hubby that were getting an addition in a few weeks, lol.

 

[gpamela3499]

This morning I checked on the chick under the silkie and it was fine. Then I checked under the cochin and there was one chick and a squished flat egg that had been a peeping chick, I moved the chick to the silkie to prevent any more accidents. I feel kind of sorry for the cochin though as her eggs were the ones that hatched but she continued to leave the chicks when she went for water and the silkie doesn't.

How long will the cochin continue to sit on the nest?
How long do hens remain broody if I leave no eggs under them?