Incubators Anonymous

[darkbluespace]

I just realized a strange thing! I have the following ...

coop 1, 8 LF hens=8 chickens, obviously
coop 2, 7 Seramas and the LF broody that hatched them= 8 chickens
coop 3, 3 Seramas and 5 chicks, there were 6 but one died = 8 chickens
Last batch of Seramas, hatched 9, my son stepped on one and it died = 8 chickens
Eggs due to hatch this week... 5 Seramas and 3 Silkies= 8 hopeful chickens
Eggs due to hatch in the next two weeks... 8 Serama eggs= another 8 hopeful chickens
I had 6 Ancona ducks and my broody just hatched 2 more= 8 Ancona ducks

Are you sensing a pattern here?

That is seven sets of eight! I clearly need one more set of eight... maybe silkies!!

Just to be fair I do also have one set of 5 Seramas, 4 peafowl and 1 Muscovy duck

S**t, I just realized I have a lot of birds!

 

[sonderah]

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.

I always leave a "clutch" of plastic Easter eggs in the nest for them to go broody on. Then when I'm sure they r committed, I switch them out for the real thing.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

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.
  "[COLOR=333333]Should I just test her once in awhile and leave one of her eggs in the coop?"[/COLOR] 
   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.
   "[COLOR=333333]Will they (sic) automatically start sitting on that one egg?"[/COLOR]  "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. 
     "[COLOR=333333]If she is broody, will she lay somewhere else? The coop box is not very private."[/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]      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. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]   [/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]       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.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]       Sincerely,[/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]       Neal, the Zooman[/COLOR]

You are awesome, Neal. Thank you!

 

[ladycat]

Well shoot, I set some eggs sometime last week but I forgot to write down the date.

 

[darkbluespace]

Well shoot, I set some eggs sometime last week but I forgot to write down the date.

Sometimes I can look at my posts on here and find what day I set them!!

 

[Bazy]

I just realized a strange thing! I have the following ...

coop 1, 8 LF hens=8 chickens, obviously
coop 2, 7 Seramas and the LF broody that hatched them= 8 chickens
coop 3, 3 Seramas and 5 chicks, there were 6 but one died = 8 chickens
Last batch of Seramas, hatched 9, my son stepped on one and it died = 8 chickens
Eggs due to hatch this week... 5 Seramas and 3 Silkies= 8 hopeful chickens
Eggs due to hatch in the next two weeks... 8 Serama eggs= another 8 hopeful chickens
I had 6 Ancona ducks and my broody just hatched 2 more= 8 Ancona ducks

Are you sensing a pattern here?

That is seven sets of eight! I clearly need one more set of eight... maybe silkies!!

Just to be fair I do also have one set of 5 Seramas, 4 peafowl and 1 Muscovy duck

S**t, I just realized I have a lot of birds!

There is a problem with this equation. The eggs due to hatch = 8. and the next set of eggs due to hatch = 8. everyone knows only half will hatch so you need four + four more in addition to the 8 you need to round out to an even number of pens. So you don't need 8, you need 16.

 

[calichicken]

There is a problem with this equation. The eggs due to hatch = 8. and the next set of eggs due to hatch = 8. everyone knows only half will hatch so you need four + four more in addition to the 8 you need to round out to an even number of pens. So you don't need 8, you need 16.

LOL...yes that is correct! MORE EGGS

You need to keep that set of 8 pattern going

 

[darkbluespace]

LOL...yes that is correct! MORE EGGS

You need to keep that set of 8 pattern going

I did just get the email that my 12 duck eggs are ready... so I guess I just need 4 more! Although, I like to have 100% hatches so I may only need 8 of these duck eggs to bring me to completion.

Funny, I told my son about the 7 eights last night and his immediate response was that we needed one more set of eight! These patterns make me feel that everything is happening just the way it is supposed to.

 

[calichicken]

I did just get the email that my 12 duck eggs are ready... so I guess I just need 4 more! Although, I like to have 100% hatches so I may only need 8 of these duck eggs to bring me to completion.

Funny, I told my son about the 7 eights last night and his immediate response was that we needed one more set of eight! These patterns make me feel that everything is happening just the way it is supposed to.

Yes...since you are planning a 100% hatch

then you are going to need 4 more duck eggs to keep the 8's going! Seems to be the number that is working for you...LOL!!! Do you get eggs locally or by mail? Always curious to check in with people and see how mailed eggs work for them and successful hatching

 

[HugHess]

Right!....


Can anyone decipher my erroneous math 'problem'...
The answer was pre-supplied as a sum of 6...
So I set 9 Orp eggs and 6 hatched...take away the two boys and one who left the test early...left me with 3...
I then carried over the 5 Orp Xs and that gave me 10...all but one of those appear to be boys...
so, now carry over the 1 Isbar and that half of the of the problem gives me, what...4, I think...
Now add to this the 8 Ameraucana Xs, which 2 have added themselves to the equation one day early...so now that I have to wait to see who won't subtract themselves or get lost in translation, I am up to... ummm...4 right? Now I am forced to add an additional 12 more LF Orp eggs to reach the original answer of, what was the answer I was given...8 wasn't it...yeah, 8.
Jeez, where did I get 6! Ridiculous. Phhshht, 6...
Anyhoo, I am 3/4 of the way through my problem and my sub total is 13...still waiting to see if the other two batches of numbers fit into my arithmetic...
Am I going to get answer I am looking for....which I think is 10, right?
Thanks in advance for any and all 'tutoring'...because as is evident, I will need many many lessons before I can feel confident in my test skills.

Sincerely,

Finals Failer