Mabel's Broody Adventure ENDS

[cherylcohen]

OH NO, I just went out to check on Mabel and she's still in the nest but one egg was not under her. Does she have too many eggs?

It was cold last night. It's 39 degrees here this am and while she's in a dog kennel she's in the outside pen, not the warm coop. Maybe I need to rethink this and put some "walls" up in her "salon" to keep her warmer? Maybe clear tarps?

I have 3 more eggs coming this morning, that will make 15 under her...is that ok?

 

[boxermom]

I only had 12 under my first broody. I don't know how many they can sit on. My barn that time got down to 20*. I had no heat lamp until they hatched. She hatched 10 out of 12. I don't know if those 2 were cold or just didn't go. It's all an experiment the first time. I would just let her decide if there are too many. Was that egg cold? Maybe you just caught her rearranging. Maybe that egg had something wrong with it that only she could detect. I wouldn't put anymore eggs under her though. My best advice right now is watch her, admire her, knit booties,

etc. Stop worrying and let her be.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
What I can't understand is how they can set for so long without something to READ or some needlework to do. I would go nuts!

I've always admired the instincts & abilities of broody hens. I've heard a lot of discussion from folks who set eggs in incubators and have such difficulty keeping the temp & humidity at just the right levels. But a hen just seems to KNOW. She sheds feathers off her breast to make a nice moist pocket next to her skin. In cool weather she'll clamp down tight over the eggs, spreading herself almost flat to cover them. In warmer weather she'll set more upright over them. On one hot day I saw a broody hen standing up over her eggs for a while. They also time their breaks to match the weather, the warmer the temp the longer they can stay off the nest.

Your hen may not need much food/water right now, may not want to leave the nest for long, may not need to poop yet. I think she knows how & when to get up, I wouldn't bother her by rearranging her furniture. If your other chickens are comfortable in the outside temps this hen should be too. You may want to spread a blanket or sleeping bag over the kennel to help her keep her heat in while on the nest, but the rest of your set-up looks good.

You can try putting that one egg back under her, make a mark on it so you can see later if it gets discarded by the hen or doesn't ever hatch. And I think you're taking a chance to add 3 more eggs to her clutch, it's a chance that might be successful, but there's a chance it may be too many for her first setting. There's also a chance these new eggs won't be ready to hatch when the others do and the hen won't stay on the nest to wait for them. In my opinion, I wouldn't add new eggs more than 12 hours after setting the first ones. But it's up to you if you want to try it anyway. It just might work.

During the next 21 days, while you're sitting on your hands & waiting for your hen to hatch her chicks, be making plans for what you're going to do with all the cockerel chicks that hatch. Can you, will you want to keep any of them? It will be tempting to want to keep them all since you've been so personally connected with them from before birth, but that will probably be impractical. Have your plan in place now, and don't give them names until you know for sure they're ones you will keep. It's fine to enjoy & adore them all while they're cute & fuzzy & new, but keep in mind that not all of them may be staying with you as adults.

 

[cherylcohen]

I'm so lucky to have you guys

If it's too many eggs for her, will she just push them out or will she have an unsuccessful hatch because she's trying to hard

 

[Sunny Side Up]

If there are too many eggs to comfortably fit under the hen she may not be able to adequately incubate them all. Some may not receive sufficient warmth & moisture to fully develop. She may also push a few out & neglect to tuck them back in. Some folks think that broody hens can tell if an egg is a dud and so refuse to incubate it any further. Perhaps some hens are able to detect the unseen differences in those eggs by their weight or temp.

More typically, I think, a hen just plays a numbers game. She will lay more eggs than she needs to hatch, and hatch out more chicks than she needs to grow into adulthood. So if a few get left out in the cold or fail to hatch on time, she still counts the experience as successful.

We humans tend to take it more personally, aim to have every egg incubated, every chick hatch, and get upset when they don't. Your hen may be able to successfully cover 15 eggs or more, but it was suggested that you set her with just 12 this first time. Each hen has her own component of broody skills, and some just do a better job than others. This is Mabel's first set, her shake-down cruise, and you'll learn a lot about her & how good of a broody she will be. She might have more success if she doesn't have too many eggs to adequately cover & turn & keep track of this time.

Keep in mind that these are domestic chickens you're raising, not California Condors, there's no need to go to extremes to hatch out more.

 

[cherylcohen]

LOL oh you are the best!

I'm not going for volume really I just had wanted to add 1 of each of the 5 breeds I chose, then of course, I had to allow for roosters! Then some could break, so that put me at 3! Then people sent me 4 and 5 instead of 3...oh no! (fortunately I've found an elementary school class that was looking for eggs so I'm able to donate them!)

so the dilema is that while all the other eggs came yesterday, only the silver laced wyandotte that I really wanted, those eggs came this am. So I've got 3 gorgeous SLW eggs in front of me, warming to room temp

I don't want to push it or hurt Mabel....what if I put them in front of her breastbone and left them to see if she pushes them under her?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I don't think it will "hurt" Mabel to give her more eggs, it won't cause her more effort or strain. It's just that the more eggs she has to cover the more chance there will be that some may not receive adequate care for development. But you could go ahead & try it, put those eggs by her chest & watch to see if she tucks them in underneath her.

 

[cherylcohen]

she took in two of them and she's almost as flat as a pancake laying over them...ahhhhhh

 

[emjay]

I slipped all the eggs under my broody at night.
All didn't hatch, 6 of 8, I think 8 is a good number. Next time I might try 10, but, it seems hectic first time around.
Mine was in a dog kennel too. I let her out when she asked, so she could dust bathe and spread her wings.
I have a dust bathing box inside the coop, so I locked the others outside so she could have the run of the coop.
She didn't get up to drink much. But, she's okay.
She didn't eat much either, but, surprisingly she looks pretty good. just a dirty butt.

I am moving her to bigger accomadations very soon. As her chicks are up and about.

I think your girl should be okay. sounds like you've got things figured pretty good.

 

[cherylcohen]

Help, I'm really worried about my girl....She hasn't left the nest for 5 1/2 days now, I put a little bowl of water and she gulped it down. I'm so worried as none of her feed has been touched

I just took her off the nest...i know i know you all said to leave her alone, but I was watching her and she was breathing a bit through her mouth. She can't walk!!! I set her next to the eggs and she's made no attempt to get back on them. She's missing all her feathers on her underside...is that normal.

I put a little bowl of grapes and she started gobbling them, then I gave her some cracked sunflower and she just went crazy eating. She's a bit more attentive and she's looking around. If she doesn't get up, what should I do

Ok I just put her back on her nest..she tried really really hard to get all the eggs under her but seems too weak..I helped her
She's asleep now....

Do you guys think she could just be weak?