Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[JChicken77]

Hi there!
I have a broody silkie and tomorrow is day 7 for her eggs. She has 10 eggs, she went broody one other time, but she only had 1 chick survive. I am hoping she does well but, every time I checked on her it seems like there is always an egg or two sticking out from under her. :/ should I take some away or just leave them? I am worried it could bring down her hatch rate.

 

[fisherlady]

Hi there!
I have a broody silkie and tomorrow is day 7 for her eggs. She has 10 eggs, she went broody one other time, but she only had 1 chick survive. I am hoping she does well but, every time I checked on her it seems like there is always an egg or two sticking out from under her. :/ should I take some away or just leave them? I am worried it could bring down her hatch rate.

If there are eggs sticking out then she has been overloaded and it will affect the hatch rate. Every time an egg can't be covered it will cool and can either slow the development or harm the developing chick.
You should pull and candle the eggs, pick 6 or 7 which look the best and pitch or incubate the others in some other way.

Any time you set a bird you can judge how many by giving them 5 or 6 to start, then add 1 or 2 more at a time, when the hen seems to have problems finding a spot for the latest egg then stop and pull the last egg and one more to allow her space to not just cover them but room to shuffle them when she needs to. If she struggles to cover the eggs she will struggle to cover the chicks after hatch also.
On average .....
Small bantams can cover 4 or 5 small bantam eggs and 3 or maybe 4 large fowl eggs
Medium bantams...6 to 8 bantam eggs or 5 to 6 LF eggs
Average LF hen...12-15 bantam eggs, 8-12 LF eggs
Really large hens may be able to cover more but keep in mind that the chicks will grow fast and a dozen chicks is a very large clutch for any hen to watch over, especially if the weather is cooler.

 

[JChicken77]

I will get on that tomorrow, thanks.

One more thing. I do have some eggs in my incubator right now and they are on day 16. So could I put the eggs I take from her in the bator with them? They will go into lock down on Sunday......I guess I could keep them together and just hand turn hers, I don't like opening the bator during lockdown though..........

any suggestions?

 

[fisherlady]

I will get on that tomorrow, thanks.   One more thing.  I do have some eggs in my incubator right now and they are on day 16.  So could I put the eggs I take from her in the bator with them?  They will go into lock down on Sunday......I guess I could keep them together and just hand turn hers, I don't like opening the bator during lockdown though.......... any suggestions?

I'm sorry, I can't answer your incubator question, I don't have an incubator...
There are numerous incubator hatch along threads active on BYC so you can check with them. Best bet is probably the current Halloween hatch along.

 

[JChicken77]

That's Alright, I will probably check that out and thanks for the help. This is a broody hen thread anyway......

 

[MandyMW]

Should I candle eggs from under a broody? We are in the first 48 hours under momma.

 

[h2oratt]

No leave the Broodys eggs alone. They don't need to be messed with.

 

[Faraday40]

If there are eggs sticking out then she has been overloaded and it will affect the hatch rate. Every time an egg can't be covered it will cool and can either slow the development or harm the developing chick.
You should pull and candle the eggs, pick 6 or 7 which look the best and pitch or incubate the others in some other way.

Any time you set a bird you can judge how many by giving them 5 or 6 to start, then add 1 or 2 more at a time, when the hen seems to have problems finding a spot for the latest egg then stop and pull the last egg and one more to allow her space to not just cover them but room to shuffle them when she needs to. If she struggles to cover the eggs she will struggle to cover the chicks after hatch also.
On average .....
Small bantams can cover 4 or 5 small bantam eggs and 3 or maybe 4 large fowl eggs
Medium bantams...6 to 8 bantam eggs or 5 to 6 LF eggs
Average LF hen...12-15 bantam eggs, 8-12 LF eggs
Really large hens may be able to cover more but keep in mind that the chicks will grow fast and a dozen chicks is a very large clutch for any hen to watch over, especially if the weather is cooler.

Yes I agree. We have a bantam Sebright that loves to go broody, but can only handle about 3 eggs/chicks. (Mainly b/c we have giant Orpingotons, so they're bigger than her by 3.5 wks.)
This is her current brood.


This was her late spring brood.

 

[JChicken77]

Thanks for the help! Your hen is beautiful

I am going to go out today and candle her eggs, pick out the 5 best for her and put the rest in my incubator.

 

[JChicken77]

I did it

, she now has 5 eggs and I have 5 in my bator. They are all on about day 7, and the ones I already had in my incubator are on day 17. The ones I gave her have great veining, and I expect her to do well. Mine, are not as good. I can not see any veining in the ones I took from her, so we will see how it goes. Hopefully we'll have some babies soon!