Is it okay to let a broody sit on eggs now?

[georgialee]

I have a bantam ee that has been broody for the past couple of weeks and she just won't quit - I just take the eggs from her every day. Would it be okay to let her sit on some now or is it too cold to raise chicks? Thanks!

 

[mulia24]

she is broody for couple of weeks and won't quit but she still be able to produce egg???

 

[Chooksaurus]

Mine would sit on the eggs of others or even steal their eggs and bring them to their box. She wasn't laying herself, but I had to take eggs away from her every day.

 

[georgialee]

Yeah, she's not laying right now (of course my only blue egg layer

)... she's sitting on all the other eggs.

 

[mulia24]

better to separate her from the other hen to make sure no other egg being sit by her other than her previous egg.

i mean, if you still have her with other hens then other hen lay inside her nestbox and she keep sitting on it, and when you collect the egg everyday, you'll have all your eggs have veins on it and unfortunately because you have take it from her then the embryos will dead and that will be a real surprise for you to see blood ring/dead vein when you scramble the egg to cook it.

then, better to take her at night with gently and silence, put her at other nest box separate from the flock and give her some eggs to sit since she has been showing true loyal broody by sitting couple of weeks, but beware of disloyalty being raised by moving her, better to give her fake eggs/golf ball/wooden egg first and wait 2-3 days, if she keep broody, then change the fake to real eggs at dark night, make sure to do everything silently and gently, you don't want she attack you or break broodiness. good luck.

 

[oldchickenman]

i had a silkie hatch out 4 biddys last jan the 1rst it was below freezeing too she even had her biddys outside they didnt stray to far though they did fine.

 

[HEChicken]

I wouldn't incubate eggs at this time of year because then it would be up to me to keep the chicks warm and get them outside for the winter. However if the mother hen is willing, I figure she (hopefully) knows what she is doing. It will be up to her to keep them warm until they're feathered out but since they can hide under her whenever they need to warm up, it should turn out fine.

 

[framing fowl]

I don't know the answer but I see you're in TN. I'm just north of you in Kentucky and I just put 10 eggs under my broody on the 1st so I guess we'll learn together. My philosophy tends to be that mother nature knows what she's doing...

 

[Dane Chick]

I was wondering the same thing about the temperature. My Egyptian has been sitting on 5 eggs of mixed hens since Halloween afternoon. It is our first experience with hatching eggs and i do not know how to help her. She is in a nest elevated three feet from the ground. Any advice as to whether i should move her - and where? Into the house, still in the coop? Any info would be appreciated.

 

[pbjmaker]

I had a good frizzle mama hatch out 5 chicks three weeks ago. One died the first day due to hatching issues. Then our weather turned nasty cold and rained for days on end. She managed to keep them dry and warm enough at first but when they got to the age where they tend to wander away a tad further she ended up losing both the naked neck chicks on different days. I just don't think they could keep as warm as the standard size chick and the fully feathered banty chick. Of course now we are back in the 60-70's again.

I think you probably stay warm enough down there but it's not an ideal time of year in my opinion.