My broody hen’s eggs are cold!

[12motherhen]

Hello,

I’m hoping for some advice....

I have a broody Buff Orpington hen. We gave her 4 fertile hatching eggs 24 hours ago and she has been sitting on them since.

However, I have just checked on her and she was unable to get to her nest (not sure how she got shut out) and the eggs were cold to touch. She is back on the nest now. It is a warm day here (19*C but her nest is in the shade).

I had seen her an hour before so they haven’t been cold for long, but I’m concerned that they now may not hatch. Can anyone advise?

Many thanks in advance,

Amy (Warwickshire, UK)

 

[DobieLover]

Hello,

I’m hoping for some advice....

I have a broody Buff Orpington hen. We gave her 4 fertile hatching eggs 24 hours ago and she has been sitting on them since.

However, I have just checked on her and she was unable to get to her nest (not sure how she got shut out) and the eggs were cold to touch. She is back on the nest now. It is a warm day here (19*C but her nest is in the shade).

I had seen her an hour before so they haven’t been cold for long, but I’m concerned that they now may not hatch. Can anyone advise?

Many thanks in advance,

Amy (Warwickshire, UK)

Welcome to BYC!

They're likely okay. I've recently learned that early on in the incubation if the mother doesn't or can't get to the nest and the eggs go cold they'll be okay if you get her back on within 6 hours or so.

My newest girl hadn't fully grafted to the new nest site and was off her clutch for about 3 hours on day 2. I put her back on the eggs and candled at 7 days and all of them were alive.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Broody hens generally leave their nests every day to eat, drink, and poop. I've seen a broody hen leave her nest for 15 minutes once a day in cooler weather. I've seen a hen leave her nest twice a day for over an hour each time in warmer weather. Sometimes I don't see them leave at all but since she s not pooping in the nest she does leave.

Brinsea markets incubators with a feature to allow cooling, saying that helps, but the studies they reference are for geese instead of chickens. I'm not convinced that's anything except a marketing ploy as far as it helping, but it does not hurt.

19* C converts to 66* F. If yours was off for less than an hour you should be fine.

 

[12motherhen]

Thank you very much for your fast replies. Very reassuring. I’ll candle them in a few days and cross my fingers!

 

[Qualien]

I had a broody hen with two eggs that rolled out of her nest during the night at day 15. She was off of them for at least a few hours, temperatures were in the 60's F the eggs were cold by the time I got them back under her. I was also concerned they wouldn't hatch, but incredibly both of them hatched, and were healthy happy chicks.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I have a broody Buff Orpington hen. We gave her 4 fertile hatching eggs 24 hours ago and she has been sitting on them since.

However, I have just checked on her and she was unable to get to her nest (not sure how she got shut out) and the eggs were cold to touch. She is back on the nest now. It is a warm day here (19*C but her nest is in the shade).

I had seen her an hour before so they haven’t been cold for long, but I’m concerned that they now may not hatch. Can anyone advise?

I can tell you from first hand, and recent, experience that they will be fine. My hen was off her eggs three days into sitting for anywhere from 2-8 hours and the eggs were cold to the touch. We are on day 21, due to hatch any second, and they are all fully developed at least until this point. In 24 hours it's likely very little, if any developement has really occurred.

 

[12motherhen]

Thank you everyone for your replies. What a lovely forum!