Putting eggs under a broody

[pennyJo1960]

Alright need help for clean photos 3 of the silky playing Mom to the one chick

 

[lutherpug]

My views on candling under a broody changed after I had a rotten egg explode under a broody at day 17. I now check at the 10-14 day range to pull duds.

Well, that settles that!

 

[MROO]

Start looking on craigs list for a second coop Please for now I do not see a problem with you doing that

X2 on the second coop - or a dog kennel with hardware cloth wrapped around it so peeps can't sneak out through the large wiring. My broody is currently in a rabbit hutch, inside the larger coop. It has a solid bottom, so tiny chick-legs can't drop through.
As long as Mama has access to food and water, she'll be fine in a confined space - she's not really going anywhere any time soon, anyway! Just keep after those massive broody-poo piles, or you'll have a really nasty mess in a really short time!

 

[pennyJo1960]

all true what @MROO said

 

[lutherpug]

I have her confined in the coop and I have a dog kennel I could use if needed as well. A second coop isn't an option at the moment.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Dog kennels with hardware cloth are perfect

 

[MROO]

Dog kennels with hardware cloth are perfect

And if you don't have extra hardware cloth you can even use cardboard. The only drawbacks are that the kennel needs to be totally protected from getting wet (like inside a coop or garage) And that no one can see in or out to get acquainted with the new babies.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Big black garbage bags can be cut to work in bad weather

 

[333113]

So, here is the plan-

I'm going to isolate the broody (Astrid the Australorp/Leghorn mutt) in the coop with access to food, water, and a nest. She is definitely broody but inconsistent with the nest she returns to so I'll remove the availability of alternative options. I will proactively give her a permethrin dust bath. I do not have a mite issue in the coop. My rooster has/had a possible case of scaly leg mites but he is in quarantine nowhere near my coop and has been treated chemically. He will remain out there until there is visible healing on the few scabs on his legs or for at least 30 days, whatever happens first. I believe he has made progress, I'm going to check on him tonight. I like the idea of giving Astrid the option of outdoor time every day so I will try that and see if she's interested. I'm comfortable with this plan. As @Ridgerunner points out, nothing is completely fool proof and there are trade offs but I think this is a reasonable enough plan.

One final question-my egg seller shipped me extras (of course) so I have 15 speckled sussex eggs. I assume this is way too many to put under her but I'm really just guessing. They're resting now and my plan is to put her in her new broody area this evening and slip the eggs under her in the morning. Should I do all 15? If not, how many? If I do the remaining in my incubator my plan would be to give her the chicks immediately after hatching. Alternatively, I will just discard the extras. I have a way to re home roosters, If I get 2 sussex hens out of this ordeal, mission accomplished

I am not aware of Australorps or Leghorns having good reputations as broody hens, so I will offer this experience. Two years ago one of my Crevecoeurs started setting on eggs, both hers and her sisters' eggs, so she was setting on quite a pile. I kept an eye on her, because setting behavior is rare in Crevecoeurs. Sure enough, she killed the first baby that hatched. She probably thought it was a mouse or other predator. I fired up the incubator and moved all the rest of the eggs to the warmed up incubator. Of the 19 eggs she was setting on, 18 hatched, including the one she killed, and only one was an early loss. So, pretty amazing broody, but no good as a mother.
When chickens are selected to not be broody, you don't know what parts are missing of their "programming" to raise their next generation. This goes for roosters, too. Until you are certain that a particular hen or roo is good with chicks, make no assumptions, especially if the breed is reputed to be non-setter. And be prepared with an incubator or brooder box to step in, if you are serious about raising chicks.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I am not aware of Australorps or Leghorns having good reputations as broody hens, so I will offer this experience. Two years ago one of my Crevecoeurs started setting on eggs, both hers and her sisters' eggs, so she was setting on quite a pile. I kept an eye on her, because setting behavior is rare in Crevecoeurs. Sure enough, she killed the first baby that hatched. She probably thought it was a mouse or other predator. I fired up the incubator and moved all the rest of the eggs to the warmed up incubator. Of the 19 eggs she was setting on, 18 hatched, including the one she killed, and only one was an early loss. So, pretty amazing broody, but no good as a mother.
When chickens are selected to not be broody, you don't know what parts are missing of their "programming" to raise their next generation. This goes for roosters, too. Until you are certain that a particular hen or roo is good with chicks, make no assumptions, especially if the breed is reputed to be non-setter. And be prepared with an incubator or brooder box to step in, if you are serious about raising chicks.

Had to look the bird up sorry was raised on a farm we had white leghorn and rode island reds had to get them 40 years later to find out many more types now