New at owning Chooks Help Please

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Tilldy

Tilldy

In the Brooder
Dec 19, 2016
9
2
29
Western Autralia
Good morning I'm a new at having Chickens and have fallen in love instantly , I have a Sussex Rooster named Red and a beautiful hen we call Matilda as of yesterday Matilda decided to go broody being I'm a learner I tried to pick her up and she was not impressed and tried to peck me , my question is how do I know how many eggs and will she keep laying till she has quite a few? as far as I know she was sitting on 2 golf balls ? We took them on as the rooster was going to get the chop and I just couldn't let it happen he is so sweet , any advice for this novice would be appreciated thank you
 
Hi there and :welcome.
Because she is broody she will lay no eggs.
You will need to buy eggs from a breeder or use your own eggs.
And then slip the eggs under her at night.
They have to be fertilised by a rooster,
Goodluck
Fionn.
 
G’Day from down under Tilldy
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Welcome!

As ChickenGrass has mentioned, broody hens do not lay eggs. However, a hen that has just turned broody might add one or two more eggs to her collection when she starts to sit on them but after that, nothing. This is her’s and nature’s way of ensuring that all the eggs hatch around the same time and you do not end up with a staggered hatch.

I hope you enjoy BYC. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun. Unlike non chicken loving friends, family and colleagues, BYC’ers never tire of stories or pictures that feature our feathered and non feathered friends
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would it be ok to leave her with just the one egg?
and our Rooster isn't crowing now is this to do with her being Broody ? so sorry I hope my questions don't sound to silly I have no clue ?
 
Last edited:
Hey there Tilldy

There are no silly questions, we all had to learn at one time or another
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Sorry, I have no experience with roosters so I can not answer your question regarding his not crowing.

First up, are you certain that the egg is fertile? Has your rooster been doing the deed?

As ChickenGrass has suggested, more fertile eggs would be preferable. If that one does not hatch she will have sat there for 21 days with no little one as a reward for her effort.

If it was me, I would 1. Get her some more fertile eggs or 2. Break her from being broody this time around and next time she goes broody you may have more eggs available to give her.
 
Lol Scratch that last comment about our Rooster not crowing he has just fired up hehe love him :) thank you all so much for your comments and help its so very appreciated , will Matilda be ok if no chicks hatch just a worse case scenario question ?
 
Yep, she should be OK. However, you will need to keep an eye on her and track of the time-frame.

Determined broodies will sometimes continue to sit on eggs way past their hatch date and because they are not eating or drinking as much as usual, this can be detrimental to their overall health and condition. Some have been known to starve to death.

Also, a nice, warm stationary broody sitting on a nest is an open invitation to lice and mites, so you will want to keep an eye on that also.

If her one egg does not hatch after the 21 days, you could consider giving her some day old chicks. There is the risk that she may not accept them though and I recommend researching this option thoroughly before choosing to go down that path.
 

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