possible hen going broody

[iwiw60]

I bet your son was glad he had on the gloves!!!!!!

 

[the510flock]

Soooooo Henrietta IS going broody! Shes been hoarding the nest and becoming more and more attached to the eggs. So heres my question for today: i know fertile eggs are rather sensitive and ive been so impatient that i keep putting eggs under her that she hasnt fully commit to.... BUT...if she laid on the eggs all day yesterday, abandoned them at night, and then went back to the nest today are the embryos still viable or are they dead from the night? My instincts and prior research say theyre no good for hatching anymore but i was looking for further insight

 

[iwiw60]

Soooooo Henrietta IS going broody! Shes been hoarding the nest and becoming more and more attached to the eggs. So heres my question for today: i know fertile eggs are rather sensitive and ive been so impatient that i keep putting eggs under her that she hasnt fully commit to.... BUT...if she laid on the eggs all day yesterday, abandoned them at night, and then went back to the nest today are the embryos still viable or are they dead from the night? My instincts and prior research say theyre no good for hatching anymore but i was looking for further insight

Are you sure she abandons the nest at night time??? How many eggs does she have under her now???

With that said, and she is broody, I would recommend putting her in her own area (dog crate, sick pen, etc.). You need to do this at night time when everyone else is roosting. After you have her new "area" all set up, put on some gloves (yes, gloves!) and pick up the entire nest and walk it over to her new spot in the coop. Oh she'll put up a fight alright, scream and yell, but she will follow you on over to the new spot and should settle down in a short time...Once you've got her relocated just make sure she has food and water nearby (not in the crate) and then the waiting begins...leave her alone despite the driving urge to "I'll just check and see" scenario. If she's truly broody you should have chicks in a few weeks!

 

[boyswillbeboys]

Thank you for sharing the picture of Henrietta's broody patch, I've left several marked eggs in the coop to entice one if my girls, and I think it's working, one of my girls is about alf as bald as your picture, though none of the ones I checked have feathers alongside the breastbone, I was trying to compare 'Sweetie' to the others. Sweetie is not so sweet lately, though she was still perfectly willing to lay around in my arms once I did manage to pick her up. Lol