I'm looking for fertilized eggs in southern Michigan.

[deborah]

One of my hens has gone broody, but we don't have a rooster. (I would made terrible enemies with my neighbor if I got one).

Right now she is sitting on golf balls. I would love to have chicks. Raised by a hen instead of me!

I live near Chelsea, Michigan (about half way between Ann Arbor and Jackson). Does anyone in reasonable driving distance have fertilized eggs I could put under my broody hen?

 

[Cheepchick]

Hi ....I live in South Haven and I have lots of eggs that are fertile...I have bantam Cochins and Aracauna and Phoenix and several other breeds but they are all mixed together but I would be happy to give you some eggs if you want to come and get them
Let me know either on here or at [email protected]...Thanks Linda

 

[Frizzledhen]

Hi Deborha,
I live in Springport but could meet you in Jackson. I have bantam cochins, black, red, buff and mixed light brahma and white cochin, or I have EEs in standard. I have a wheaton ameraucana roo and he has 4 EEhens and 2 RIR hens and 2 buff orp hens. You can have all the bantam eggs you want. The EEs are $3 per dozen. Just let me know.
Gayle

 

[mexisbirds]

Hi, Im near Port Huron and have mixed color silky eggs....

 

[deborah]

Thank you Frizzledhen for the beautiful eggs. Thank you too Cheepchick and Mexisbirds for the offers.

I should have put in my request that we currently have standard sized Barred Rocks, and the offer of blue egg layers from Frizzledhen was irresistable to us.

We put the 14 eggs Frizzledhen gave us under the hen last evening. She is staying put. She is only 10 months old, so this is her, and our, first experience. We've left her in the nest, because we were afraid if we tried to move her into a brood box, she might give up being broody. We plan to watch closely for the eggs to hatch and move her when they do.

Before we got the eggs, she was sitting on golf balls. Since we put the eggs under her, she raises a bit of a fuss whenever we come into the henhouse, particularly when my husband gathered eggs earlier today. (We have 10 nests for 11 hens. They are 2 rows of five. She is in the top middle nest). So far, we haven't seen any evidence any of the other hens are bothering her. We really have a very mild flock.

One question I've been wondering, since we put the eggs under her last night, is today day 1, or was yesterday?

A second question, is 14 eggs too much to put under her? Especially since this is her first time, is she likely to have difficulty caring for that many eggs?

Thank you so much Frizzledhen for the eggs. I will post pictures as things progress. I'm hoping this all goes well and we get 14 chicks!

Deb

 

[Frizzledhen]

Hey Deb it was a pleasure meeting you and your husband. Sorry about my drive.

If you put the eggs under late last night, today is day 1. Your hen should be ok with all 14 eggs but just keep an eye open for a few days to see that she is covering all of them. Now let's start counting those 21 days to hatch day. The best of luck to you and your Broody.
Gayle

 

[mexisbirds]

Good luck and lots of babies....only problem ive ever had with broodies when they have too many eggs was with my silkies they just keep taking all the eggs they can get and when they move them,some get too far from the heat and had bad legs when they hatched,so I make sure to mark the eggs so we can take the new ones out.None of my standards have ever gone broody so not sure how many for them.

 

[deborah]

An update:

Mama (that what we are calling the broody hen) is sitting on the eggs. We haven't seen her get off, though we are not out there all the time. The other hens don't seem to be bothering her.

But I have 2 concerns:
1. I think 14 was too many eggs to put under her. She has them all covered, but some of the ones on the edge are only covered by her feathers. She has fluffed herself up. I worry that the ones at the edge are not staying warm enough. Today is Day 5. When should we try to candle them and dispose of any that aren't developing? I'm also worried we won't be able to tell which ones are developing.

2. Mama has laid 2 of her own eggs since she has been sitting. We have taken them away. I thought hens stopped laying when they got broody. But we've never seen her off the nest. If she is getting off, she's not coming out of the hen house, because we have 11 Barred Rock hens total, and we never see more than 10 outside.


Deb

 

[@migocontodos]

Deb...
Lift the hen off the nest and feel the eggs paying careful attention to the ones at the back. If they are warm like the others then she is doing a pretty good job of covering them all. You'll be able to feel the difference if there is a high degree of difference. When I "check" mine, if any are cool I remove them and last year I had 5, 100% hatches.
As far as her laying while being broody...I'm sure it's possible, but highly unlikely, there is a better chance of one of your other hens laying in that nest.
If the eggs are different, you'll have no problem removing them on sight, but if they are like the ones you received to hatch, mark the ones that are fertile so you will know for sure which eggs are to stay.
Good luck and happy hatching...
btw...what will you do with the little chickie roos?

 

[Frizzledhen]

Hi Deb,
Glad Mama is sitting the eggs for you. Like migocontodos said, check to see if the outside eggs are as warm and the ones further under her.
My guess is someone else is laying their eggs in Mama's nest. Do Ya know what "broody poop" is? Even if you don't know what it is, you should be able to smell it. If you are not seeing Mama getting off the nest, see if there is broody poop in the coop. Mama needs to get off the nest to eat, drink and POOP! If she is not getting off, maybe you should take her off and encourage her to do the above.
Good luck with the hatch.
Gayle