Incubators Anonymous

[TeaChick]

Thank you so much for checking! I forgot to mention that I have been looking for bantam cochin eggs in my area because my broody id a bantam cochin and I LOVE the breed,,,so sweet and curious! They make great pets for us

Now is probably not the best time to look so I will probably have to wait until spring...sigh

YW.
I have Cochin Bantams. She's not laying right now, but when she is, I can see about getting some eggs to you (although it might not be in time for your broody). But Fuzzy is getting close.

Looking good so far

YAY!!!!

Yup. I'm excited!

 

[calichicken]

YW.
I have Cochin Bantams. She's not laying right now, but when she is, I can see about getting some eggs to you (although it might not be in time for your broody). But Fuzzy is getting close.




Yup. I'm excited!

Thanks so much! I have a bator if little miss broody isn't feeling like hatching

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

Hello All,
I'll tell you a little trick about incubating. Chickens, and ducks too, go broody when their clutch threshold is reached. It is the combined pressure of the critical mass of eggs on their breast which gets them going. Collect all the eggs you want to hatch from the desired hen, duck, chicken, makes no difference. Store them a contrived environment at 52* fahrenheit at 50 % humidity. Turn them at least three times a day. Every 8 hours around the clock works best. They will remain viable for about 4 weeks. Then under a silkie place the starter eggs about which you care not. The threshold for silkies is about 10 medium hen's eggs. This varies a bit from hen to hen but once you learn it for a particular hen keep a note of it. Numbered leg bands are helpful if you have a few silkies. Sometimes to get the desired number of little ones I often run as many as 6 simultaneous incubating silkies each with 8 or so eggs. Why silkie moms? I find them to be the most dedicated and reliable chicken mothers of all breeds. Seldom does one of these abandon her babies to be. She must suffer great stress for this to happen. Most will go broody in 72 hours or less. Some of mine get turned on in about 24 hours! Once you find out what a particular hen's broody threshold is, you can turn them on like clockwork in subsequent incubation sessions as it is a constant in most individual silkie moms. Let the hen alone for about 3 days to make sure she is dedicated. Most silkies are very dedicated so that is generally not a problem. But one does not want to fool around with the precious primary target eggs. Remember that in many cases you may have paid a pretty penny to have them shipped to you. Incubating birds of all kinds do better if put in a quiet environment to get them going. Then one night one takes away the starter eggs and replaces them with the precious target eggs. In 21 days there are your baby chicks; 28 days for duckies! Duck eggs being larger reduces the number your silkie can handle. If you are working with duck eggs under the silkie watch for her to leave the nest to get a bite to eat, etc., and with a mist spray bottle lay a light coating of water mist on the eggs. Do not soak them or come any where close to doing it. Waterfowl eggs generally have a better hatch with the higher humidity you create. Spray them about twice a day; if you have to go away for a day don't worry it is not critical except at hatching time then you want three of the last incubation days with the mist procedure. Let us know how you do. I learned much of this good stuff as a young bird curator in a large city zoo; and am glad to share it in minute detail. We don't want anything to go wrong by missing a particular, do we? I really would like to know how you fare if you use this recipe.
Happy hatching!
Neal, the Zooman

Thanks Neal! I have a Silkie that is about one year old. I usually collect all the eggs. Would I know if she's broody if I collect the eggs? Should I just test her once in awhile and leave one of her eggs in the coop? Will they automatically start sitting on that one egg? She lays where all the other hens do. If she is broody, will she lay somewhere else? The coop box is not very private.

 

[1zooman12]

Hello Lady Fitz-Darcy,
"Would I know she is broody if I collect the eggs?"
Answer: Yes, you would know. Diagnosed broodiness is not about the eggs she has per se. The critical thing is that the broody hen's behavour changes radically. She becomes a puffed up rapid fire clucking little huffy mess. Most will complain bitterly if you handle them, very likely pecking you with great vigor but they quickly get over the handling and remain broody. I'm surprised that at one year of age your feathered lass has not already gone broody. These silkie creatures are machine-like incubators. Yep, you will know when and if she becomes broody.
"Should I just test her once in awhile and leave one of her eggs in the coop?"
Answer: Your hen is not likely to go broody having one egg remaining in her nest. At least not as reliably. Being a silkie, she might eventually go broody anyhow but remember the threshold effect is a much more reliable initiator of broodiness. If you put at least 8 and possibly 10 medium eggs about which you care not, in her nest, she will go broody quicker and more reliably. However, I don't know why a body would have her incubate just one egg. So when she goes broody make her happy with a full clutch of eggs; say eight or ten medium sized eggs. Or if you desire a batch of silkies give her as many previously stored, as described earlier, eggs that she will nicely cover (accomodate). She should be able to cover all her eggs, about a dozen if they are silkie eggs, not leaving any out in the chilly air. Making her broody as a test is not a great idea; it may amount to a form of cruelty for broody behavior is physiologically stressful and not something to tamper with unless you really want to hatch a clutch of eggs. Doing this successively will wear out your bird in time.
"Will they (sic) automatically start sitting on that one egg?" "They?" I think you meant she. We are talking about one bird here, aren't we?
Answer: Sure your hen will lay her eggs in a nest that others use but since you collect them you are interrupting her tendency and that of the others for that matter, to go broody. To have her go broody put her in isolation well away from the distraction of the other hens. She should not be able to even see them for best results. Put her in a wire cage covered from rain and wind and include her own nest box with the starter eggs. Say 8 or 9 medium sized eggs. (A warm spring or early summer is the best time for this project.) If she is anything like her sisters she will go broody in 3 or 4 days; a rare bird will be broody in 24 - 36 hours! Let her remain on the starter eggs for say 3 days. And then on the night of the third day slip your hand under her and remove the starter eggs unless these are the ones you want to hatch. This is to ensure that she is most likely to stay on the eggs you finally give her. You don't want her abandoning the precious eggs you desire to hatch. That is why you get her going with starter eggs about which you care not.
"If she is broody, will she lay somewhere else? The coop box is not very private."
Answer: I have addressed the privacy issue and that it is a must for best results. We don't want to distress a bird beyond the stress that is natural to being broody. Birds do not lay eggs after they become broody. The hormone system is in a different mode during broodiness causing her to cease laying. So she will not become broody and then go off to start a private clutch. It is a case of the eggs coming first and then the hen becoming broody.

I hope that this has been a help to you and all who read this admittedly pedantic essay. I just don't want any facet of the concept to be left to guesswork.
Sincerely,
Neal, the Zooman

 

[ladycat]

Well, I ordered a dozen Serama eggs from Sally Sunshine. The box arrived a few minutes ago. There were 20 Serama eggs plus a GREEN egg. I looked at Sally's listing and the only green egg chickens I see that she has are Crested Cream Legbars.

If it hatches, what should I do with a single Crested Cream Legbar?

 

[TeaChick]

Hello Lady Fitz-Darcy,
"Would I know she is broody if I collect the eggs?"
Answer: Yes, you would know. Diagnosed broodiness is not about the eggs she has per se. The critical thing is that the broody hen's behavour changes radically. She becomes a puffed up rapid fire clucking little huffy mess. Most will complain bitterly if you handle them, very likely pecking you with great vigor but they quickly get over the handling and remain broody. I'm surprised that at one year of age your feathered lass has not already gone broody. These silkie creatures are machine-like incubators. Yep, you will know when and if she becomes broody.
"Should I just test her once in awhile and leave one of her eggs in the coop?"
Answer: Your hen is not likely to go broody having one egg remaining in her nest. At least not as reliably. Being a silkie, she might eventually go broody anyhow but remember the threshold effect is a much more reliable initiator of broodiness. If you put at least 8 and possibly 10 medium eggs about which you care not, in her nest, she will go broody quicker and more reliably. However, I don't know why a body would have her incubate just one egg. So when she goes broody make her happy with a full clutch of eggs; say eight or ten medium sized eggs. Or if you desire a batch of silkies give her as many previously stored, as described earlier, eggs that she will nicely cover (accomodate). She should be able to cover all her eggs, about a dozen if they are silkie eggs, not leaving any out in the chilly air. Making her broody as a test is not a great idea; it may amount to a form of cruelty for broody behavior is physiologically stressful and not something to tamper with unless you really want to hatch a clutch of eggs. Doing this successively will wear out your bird in time.
"Will they (sic) automatically start sitting on that one egg?" "They?" I think you meant she. We are talking about one bird here, aren't we?
Answer: Sure your hen will lay her eggs in a nest that others use but since you collect them you are interrupting her tendency and that of the others for that matter, to go broody. To have her go broody put her in isolation well away from the distraction of the other hens. She should not be able to even see them for best results. Put her in a wire cage covered from rain and wind and include her own nest box with the starter eggs. Say 8 or 9 medium sized eggs. (A warm spring or early summer is the best time for this project.) If she is anything like her sisters she will go broody in 3 or 4 days; a rare bird will be broody in 24 - 36 hours! Let her remain on the starter eggs for say 3 days. And then on the night of the third day slip your hand under her and remove the starter eggs unless these are the ones you want to hatch. This is to ensure that she is most likely to stay on the eggs you finally give her. You don't want her abandoning the precious eggs you desire to hatch. That is why you get her going with starter eggs about which you care not.
"If she is broody, will she lay somewhere else? The coop box is not very private."
Answer: I have addressed the privacy issue and that it is a must for best results. We don't want to distress a bird beyond the stress that is natural to being broody. Birds do not lay eggs after they become broody. The hormone system is in a different mode during broodiness causing her to cease laying. So she will not become broody and then go off to start a private clutch. It is a case of the eggs coming first and then the hen becoming broody.

I hope that this has been a help to you and all who read this admittedly pedantic essay. I just don't want any facet of the concept to be left to guesswork.
Sincerely,
Neal, the Zooman

Hi, Neal.

I have Gold Comets (red sex-links) and some of them act the same way as my Cochin when she went broody. That is getting irritated and moving her nest when she wanted to go broody, sitting in the nest box for a longer duration than usual when laying, getting a little huffy. I have to leave at least 2 eggs in the nest box to keep them laying in the same spot, so I can collect their eggs. Do you think these particular girls might go broody if I allow them to collect a clutch of eggs?
Thanks for all the information!

 

[TeaChick]

Well, I ordered a dozen Serama eggs from Sally Sunshine. The box arrived a few minutes ago. There were 20 Serama eggs plus a GREEN egg. I looked at Sally's listing and the only green egg chickens I see that she has are Crested Cream Legbars.

If it hatches, what should I do with a single Crested Cream Legbar?

If it's a girl, I would just enjoy collecting the green eggs!!!

But I am self-admittedly peculiar.

 

[ladycat]

If it's a girl, I would just enjoy collecting the green eggs!!!

But I am self-admittedly peculiar.

I've been thinking about it.

*IF* it hatches-

If it's a girl, I'll put it with a Marans roo and get crested Olive Eggers.

If it's a boy, I'll put it with some of my Olive Egger hens. That should be interesting.

 

[TeaChick]

I've been thinking about it.

*IF* it hatches-

If it's a girl, I'll put it with a Marans roo and get crested Olive Eggers.

If it's a boy, I'll put it with some of my Olive Egger hens. That should be interesting.

You're brilliant!!!

You can send some of those crested Olive Eggers to me!!!

 

[1zooman12]

Hello Tea Chick,
Actually your experience with the cochin broodiness goes beyond mine. I have never owned one, but a chicken, is a chicken, is a chicken! Your clues from the Golden Comet seem plain enough. If the Golden Comet were mine I would give her, her own nest box in a pen exclusive to her; and in that box I would place at least ten starter eggs; twelve being better. Presumably you have already collected or have access to the eggs you want her to hatch. And you know how to store them. Or collect as many as you want during the time she is going into broodiness. After she has finally gone broody for three days, take away the starter eggs at night and gently put under her your target eggs. She should be in a closed environment safely away from any and all predators: rats to snakes (Gopher snakes and their allies are good to have as rats will be eliminated as these do not eat larger birds or your precious eggs. There is a 6 foot female gopher living near my coops and there are no rodents to be concerned about, although I have not seen her about lately. The sad part is that they migrate away after they have cleaned house, plus they hibernate in cool weather making themselves unavailable for rodent duty. They don't bite and are quite docile and are not given to musking on you should you choose to handle one.) to coyotes. I would visit broody Goldie only to supply fresh H20 and food refills; otherwise stay away. I certainly would give this a go. Great thing is, is that the more often you engineer a broody, the better you get at it. It is a bit unusual for a hen to go broody this time of year what with the cooling days and nights and the progressively shortening daylight periods. But so what? At worst you redo the experiment again in late winter or spring. There is no such thing as guaranties in the animal world. If you go for it let us know how it works out. I'd be tickled to know. Your bird may be undergoing a discrete molt which can make them a bit huffy and pecking as this is a prime time of the year for it. Other molters look as though they have been run through a threshing machine.
I wish you and all our fellow bird nuts wellness, contentment and remuneration beyond your fondest dreams,
Neal the Zooman