Is my hen broody?

[aart]

Mark the egg she has now so you know if any new ones have been laid by the other birds.

 

[Cocochicken]

Mark the egg she has now so you know if any new ones have been laid by the other birds.

My two hens use two different nests consistently....plus they lay slightly different colour and shape so it’s easy to tell. I put more eggs under her last night....total of 8 and did mark them so I can tell if she laid another egg or not (thinking if she’s truly broody, she won’t be laying every day like she normally does). Also so I can remove the new ones.

 

[Cocochicken]

Hi all! I have much to update you on. Mama penny has been sitting now for 17 days! Of the eight I put under her, one fell out of the nest and was ice cold by the time I found it, but the other 7 are growing well. Candled them on day 7, 12, and now tonight, day 17. Six of them are almost all dark inside, definitely growing to schedule. One of them seems to be a lot smaller, but I can see it moving so I know it’s still alive. I’m thinking to still give it a chance. I’ve chosen to keep her in the henhouse but have created a maternity ward for her and the chicks so that the other two continue to see her and her babies from the start. I will be providing some heat just to take the chill out of there. Hopefully mama keeps them warm. I took your great idea aart and made a wide ramp down from the nesting box and that allows me to put seed down on it and water is right outside the nest so no one has to go very far to eat, hence hopefully will stay nice and cuddly warm for the most part. Anyways, I feel I’ve done what I can and we are now on lockdown so we’ll see how nature handles it

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Sending warm wishes and good hatching vibes! Keep us posted!

 

[aart]

Great ramp!
I wouldn't put feed on it until the chicks hatch,
she needs to come out to eat.... and especially poop!

 

[Cocochicken]

Great ramp!
I wouldn't put feed on it until the chicks hatch,
she needs to come out to eat.... and especially poop!

I can totally appreciate that suggestion aart. I wouldn’t have done it if she wasn’t sooooo dedicated to that nest! She wasn’t coming out at all!! I figured that she would come out to poop if she had some food in her as there is no poop at all in her nest...completely clean.....it’s short enough that she really can’t stand up in there to poop. I don’t know what the right answer is

 

[aart]

She wasn’t coming out at all!!

She knows what best, if she needs food/water she'll get up to get it.
She might be in 'lock down'.
Check for turds in the nest...they don't need to stand up to poop.

 

[Cocochicken]

She knows what best, if she needs food/water she'll get up to get it.
She might be in 'lock down'
Check for turds in the nest...they don't need to stand up to poop.

So I did carefully check her nest for any turds and there are none. Wanted to see what your thoughts are on a heat source. I have set up a brooding lamp that is very safely secured and placed hoping to just take the chill out of the air so the chicks will be able to move about freely for food and water. My thoughts were that I would run this during the day on a timer that would shut off at night, thinking that the chicks would huddle under mama at night to keep them warm. Do you think this is a good plan? Or would you think it better to have it on all the time to be constant? Or do you think not at all? We will continue to have cold snaps until March/April, sometimes being as cold as minus 10 Celsius (14 Fahrenheit). Just want to give them their best chance. I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts about this as well

 

[PouleChick]

Not sure on the cold but wanted to send best wishes and hope for a great hatch for you!

 

[Cocochicken]

Not sure on the cold but wanted to send best wishes and hope for a great hatch for you!

Thank you!