OMG too adorable!
Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread
- Thread starter michaelinnc84
- Start date
Back here to feast my eyes on the adorable chicks!
Back here to feast my eyes on the adorable chicks!
That's what these threads are for
All these chicks are so CUTE!
Olivia finally turned around so I can see her face! I know its silly but that makes me feel better. I put the eggs under her yesterday so do I count today as day 1?
My neighbor said she will give me more eggs in a few days.....but I can't put them under the same hen can I? They would not hatch at the same time. Wouldn't she be off the nest caring for the first chicks and not hatch the newer ones?
Olivia finally turned around so I can see her face! I know its silly but that makes me feel better. I put the eggs under her yesterday so do I count today as day 1?
My neighbor said she will give me more eggs in a few days.....but I can't put them under the same hen can I? They would not hatch at the same time. Wouldn't she be off the nest caring for the first chicks and not hatch the newer ones?
Yeah today would be day 1. Do you have an incubator on the side? If so, you can mark the eggs that the neighbour gives you, put them under her & right at the last day take them out to incubate. That way the hen can focus on her current batch & you can have a mostly hen-incubated set of eggs along with.
Correct me if I'm wrong. Olivia is a Silkie and you gave her 4 Buff Orp eggs. This is her first time being broody.
I don't think I would give her anymore eggs. My buff eggs are huge and 4 would be a good size clutch for a young Silkie to cover. If you add more eggs she may not be able to cover them causing some to get cold and then when moved around non of them to hatch.
I don't think I would give her anymore eggs. My buff eggs are huge and 4 would be a good size clutch for a young Silkie to cover. If you add more eggs she may not be able to cover them causing some to get cold and then when moved around non of them to hatch.
Olivia is an olive egger I got her just recently from a lady selling her older chickens as she sells eggs and wanted to replace some of them with younger birds. She told me Olive was 1 1/2 to 2 years old. I really don't know but I doubt she was ever allowed to hatch eggs. I have done everything wrong.....moved her twice during the day and did not set the eggs under her after dark either! She has been very forgiving and is sitting on her four eggs tucked away safely on my porch. The eggs are ( I believe) mutt eggs.....the neighbor said they would be whatever. Even tho she is happy with her eggs she is very hormonal and testy if my hand gets within beak distance. She was my best layer and I hope she goes back to that in the spring. Do you think she will? I think it is best not to give her more eggs, also.
I love my older hens. Two of mine are about 3 years old. They still lay great. One went broody and she hatched some eggs (not that good of a mom though). I recently put some of her eggs in the incubator and they all hatched. I'm told that eggs from older hens are more difficult to hatch but the chicks that hatch are stronger and more likely to thrive. Not sure how true it is.
Not sure, but those wives' tales get started somewhere. I had an older buff orp (dominant hen) brood a clutch, and those chicks were indestructible! No problems hatching, and as much as they tried to kill themselves, they were never successful. I have a delta hen (black Cochin) on day 11 now. She's 30 weeks old, and it's her first time, so we'll see.
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