Question about an incubator and a broody hen????

[poultryhaven]

Hello I have a few questions, my black silkie hen was sitting on some eggs and she had to be moved into a different pen so i took the eggs and discarded them. I have eggs in my incubator and they've been in there for 3 or 4 days. Could i let her sit on them instead or should i continue incubating them??? I rather her sit on them. She's in with another hen and rooster, will they bother her if she sits on them? If the eggs that i want her to sit on are not her's will she still sit on them???? The two chickens she's in with are little bantam sebrights and are about 1/3 or 1/2 her size. They get along fine.
Thank You So Much In Advance =]

 

[scooter147]

1. There is no reason you cannot put those eggs under her, she won't have a clue they are not eggs she laid.

2. My advice would be to seperate her from the other two. Put her in a dog crate or somehow fence off a section of the coop for her and her eggs.
If the brody hen gets up to take care of daily business there is a good chance the other hen will take over the nest to lay her egg and the broody hen may choose another spot to sit and the eggs will chill when the other hen abandons the nest.

 

[poultryhaven]

Thank You So MUCH!!!!!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Could i let her sit on them instead or should i continue incubating them???

If she is still broody and is sitting on a nest, yes she will accept the eggs. Put them under her in the dark of the night when she is drowsy and you should be very happy with the results.

I rather her sit on them. She's in with another hen and rooster, will they bother her if she sits on them?

You are dealing with living things, so anything is possible. However, I would not hesitate to give her the eggs. It is possible the sebright will lay in the nest with her, so you need to mark the eggs she is sitting on (a magic marker of soft-leaded pencil will do) and daily remove any new eggs the sebright might lay. It is possible the sebright will break an egg getting on or off the nest if she lays eggs in that nest, but the broody could possible break an egg getting on or off the nest herself. I think this risk is low.

If the eggs that i want her to sit on are not her's will she still sit on them????

Absolutely. She will accept a golf ball or wooden egg if you give them to her.

Many people advocate isolating a broody to where the rest of the flock cannot get into the nest with her. There are some advantages to doing this, but I do not consider it absolutely necessary.

I just saw Scooter147's post. There is a risk of the hen getting confused and going to the wrong nest. It does happen and this is one of the reasons to lock the hen up away from the rest of the flock. I don't agree that there is a good chance that will happen, but it certainly does. There is a chance that by locking a hen up, you will cause her to break from being broody. Especially with a silkie, I would not expect that to happen, but there is a chance. With living creatures, you can not be sure of anything.

 

[rigagirl]

I have a question, if i was to put my hen in a small cage to separate her from rest, how big of a cage should i use and do i need to keep it off the ground? where do i keep her? out with them? or in garage? I am new to trying to hatch so i am very nervous.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If i was to put my hen in a small cage to separate her from rest, how big of a cage should i use and do i need to keep it off the ground?

You need a cage big enough to put a nest in, plus give her food and water. She also needs enough room to be able to poop and not hit the nest. For a full-sized hen, I would think a 12" x 14" nest and an area 12" x 24" for food, water, and to relieve herself would be good. The advantage to having it off the ground is, if the bottom is covered with 1/2" hardware cloth, the poop may go on through to the ground or will at least be easier to clean. You cannot let her build up a pile of poop.

where do i keep her? out with them? or in garage?

You can do either, but I like having her with the rest of the flock. It is easier to mix her back with the other chickens if she is always next to them.

This link should answer a lot of your questions. It is written by a lady who is very knowledgeable in this field.

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/broody-hens-1.html

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

There is the possibility that the broody will rub the pencil markings off of the egg. A marker is a safer bet. I carefully labeled the last lot and there was nary a mark on them by hatch day. Grrrr. Go with a Sharpie or something.
When it is time to isolate my broodies I usually just use a plastic dog crate. It works great. Granted, my broodies are all silkies so they aren't as big as a LF hen.

 

[CK Chickadilly]

could you put a pipped egg from the incubator under the broody hen during the night so it hatches under her? Will she accept the chick even though she has only been on one egg for about 1 week?

 

[rigagirl]

thank you so much