new here, with broody question

[danaalex]

hi! i have two silkie hens that i have been trying to get to go broody for a couple weeks. one is completely disinterested, and the other i think is finally there. she is, however, sitting on infertile eggs. i have a dozen fertile silkie eggs in an incubator. one is due to hatch today and two are due to be moved into lockdown today. BUT, my 2 yr old son climbed up to where the lockdown bator sits and stood on it, and broke it :-( so, i'm not sure i can use it.

my question is, can i move the lockdown eggs to my broody today, along with a couple others due to go into lockdown in 4 days? or, should i move the eggs that still have time under the broody and make my main bator into my lockdown bator?

when i saw this morning that she was still sitting on two red star eggs i was going to get my 2 day old chicks out of the brooder and set them with her THEN i saw that my son broke the bator :-(

i'd love some advice. i did a search and a google search but couldn't find any info i was looking for. this place is so incredibly helpful. i just know someone here can offer a bit of advice! thanks!!!!

 

[Judy]

If it were me I'd move one set of eggs (by due date) under her. She shouldn't be disturbed by how many or which eggs she is sitting on. Usually, once a chick hatches, the mama will stay on the nest for about 24 hours and hatch more eggs. Then she will leave the nest to raise the chicks, abandoning any unhatched eggs. So having eggs with different due dates is a problem, and I don't have a good solution for you. I suppose you could try using a heating pad and a little moisture for the last ones. Really, people have hatched an egg by keeping it tucked in their bra for the 21 days. There's also the problem of getting her to accept a late hatching chick as her own; she may run it off or even kill it. You'd probably have the best chance of success by putting it under her shortly after dark so it is under her all night with her others.

Maybe someone else will have some other thoughts. At any rate, I wish you luck. And, welcome to our forum!

 

[danaalex]

ok. thank you! this momma is a good momma, she has adopted 7 chicks in the past that weren't her's, at several week of age even! their momma had died :-( so, i'm pretty sure she'd do it again. but, i'd rather use her to hatch these eggs at this point. i'm so close to the end now, LOL and since she's gone broody i only have one silkie hen that is doing the deed with my roo and laying. i just wish she had gone broody a couple weeks ago. i had bought maran eggs i wanted her to hatch for me!

i'm going to lockdown the couple that are due today. and move the others out to my girl. thank you, again!

 

[Judy]

Actually, I once had a broody adopt some 3 or 4 week old chicks as well. Good luck, again!

 

[suzeqf]

If i lived close to you you could put them under my broody banty hen, she has a week old chick and is sitting on an egg that should hatch this weekend I hope I haven't candled it lately because it's turned off cool and i didn't want the egg to cool off to much

 

[danaalex]

thank you i have another hen i wish would go broody! and then a red star that likes to sit for a week and then quit and then a couple weeks later do it again. she has stopped and started laying like 3 times in the past couple months. i'd even use her if i could trust her to just SIT for three weeks, LOL!!! i think it will all work out though. with this hen no longer lay it slows the fertile eggs way down. and the rest of my silkies haven't started laying yet. so, i'm thinking it's all good at this point

thanks, again!