Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[dheltzel]

Thank you for your reply. She does come out of the nest for others. I have EE and buffs orpingtons. They tend to bully her while she is in the nest. She is only one year old so perhaps I should wait or maybe I can set a crate for her in the coop to protect her from my other girls. I have been kicking her out of the nest at night and setting her on the roost and taking away the eggs for the last week. She just seems like she wants to be a momma. I am scared however if she does hatch some chicks, the others will hurt them or worse kill them.

It would be much better to give her a separate pen where you don't have to worry about the intrusions of other chickens. Also, if you can find a source of local eggs, that is much better than shipping them. I have such poor results from shipped eggs I only do it as a last resort.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Thank you for your reply. She does come out of the nest for others. I have EE and buffs orpingtons. They tend to bully her while she is in the nest. She is only one year old so perhaps I should wait or maybe I can set a crate for her in the coop to protect her from my other girls. I have been kicking her out of the nest at night and setting her on the roost and taking away the eggs for the last week. She just seems like she wants to be a momma. I am scared however if she does hatch some chicks, the others will hurt them or worse kill them.
Quote:
That is a concern. You might try to move her to an area where is is protected but has her own nest. I have a large dog crate that I can fit in my coop if I need to isolate someone. Try moving her, and see if she stays. Sometimes they all want to be in the same nest, even if you have 100. LOL . My other broodies did hatch without being isolated, and at the time we only had two nest boxes. It can be done, but it's not ideal. I had a few eggs squished that way.

Even with my current broody, I still had one hen that would insist on sitting in with the broody to lay her egg there. The broody would peck at her constantly.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Quote: Dhelzel, just a quick question, if you don't mind.


I just candled the eggs this morning, and the air cells don't look big enough. I was a jerk and didn't weigh them before I put them in, so I don't know the weight difference.

It's not a big deal if they don't hatch, but I'd like to at least learn. Is there anything I can do now? I had been running the humidity at 35%, but sometimes it got up to 40%. Our house is pretty dry right now.

 

[dheltzel]

Dhelzel, just a quick question, if you don't mind.

I just candled the eggs this morning, and the air cells don't look big enough. I was a jerk and didn't weigh them before I put them in, so I don't know the weight difference.

It's not a big deal if they don't hatch, but I'd like to at least learn. Is there anything I can do now? I had been running the humidity at 35%, but sometimes it got up to 40%. Our house is pretty dry right now.

It's a learning process, even how to use a specific incubator. I "dry hatch" and try to keep the humidity under 30% until lockdown, then boost it to 60 or higher. I think the main reason my light colored eggs hatch better is because the dark pigment interferes with water movement out of the egg and that I should use even lower humidity with them, since their air cells seem smaller than the white and blue eggs.

I think you will still get some to hatch. I have some breeds that hatch 100% of the fertile eggs, with little need to be "babied". Hopefully yours are like that.

 

[yoopergirl1211]

Thanks everyone. Still here but eye infection, bronchitis, hoof rot, neither is castrated.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Fingers crossed! I will not at add any humidity until tomorrow at lockdown.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Thanks everyone. Still here but eye infection, bronchitis, hoof rot, neither is castrated.

Eek, did you find that before you left for the vet?

 

[fisherlady]

Thank you for your reply.  She does come out of the nest for others. I have EE and buffs orpingtons. They tend to bully her while she is in the nest. She is only one year old so perhaps I should wait or maybe I can set a crate for her in the coop to protect her from my other girls. I have been kicking her out of the nest at night and setting her on the roost and taking away the eggs for the last week.  She just seems like she wants to be a momma. I am scared however if she does hatch some chicks, the others will hurt them or worse kill them.  

Can you give her a pet cage or carrier with the door opening too small for the larger birds to get into?

People use a similar set up for chick feeding ( called a creep feeder) the small birds can fit in and get access to whatever is meant for them inside but the bigger birds can't. Some folks use the set up to give youngsters a place to hide from pushy older birds and I like the set up for small broodies when they are mixed in a large fowl flock. Just make sure the nest is set inside in such a way that other hens can't reach in and bother the broody while she is setting.

The added bonus of this set up is that the hen remains within sight of the flock so reintegration works better. If you have a large dog crate you can place smaller opening hardware cloth around the bottom so that the chicks can safely stay in it with the mama hen for a few days while you evaluate the behavior of the flock towards them.

 

[fisherlady]

Best of luck!  Did you set any mottled Blacks? The pictures online are so pretty, if I get a hen, I might keep her... Don't tell my hubby...


I for one, am shocked at the fact that their are little peeps in this picture. 

I know, who'da thunk it?? Me finding a picture with babies in it to share!

I liked this one, actually...but didn't show much of the drop cloth...

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

That only shows love.