Question about broody hen?

[darkfox907]

My Production road island red has been sitting on an egg for about a month now and nothing has happened yet....((not sher what too do..))

-Yes, this is her first egg she's been broody on
-We have wild roosters in our yard, so I think one of them is the daddy
-No, I have no idea what to look for when candling, would love too know how though.

She continues to sit on it and hasn't thrown it out yet, but will occasionally go out to eat and drink.

I was planning to pull the egg out today, but I am so scared I may kill it, because I've been told she would have thrown it out by now so yah.....HELP!!!

P.S. It has a bit of an oder, is that normal?

 

[bobbi-j]

Chicken eggs hatch after approximately 21 days of incubation. A month is way too long, and that egg is probably rotten (hence the odor). I would buy a couple of chicks at the local feed store, place them under your broody at night and remove the egg. Throw it as far away as you can. You do not want a rotten egg exploding anywhere that it can get on you. (Yes, this is the voice of experience speaking. Just had that happen today.

)

 

[chickydee64]

Chicken eggs hatch after approximately 21 days of incubation. A month is way too long, and that egg is probably rotten (hence the odor). I would buy a couple of chicks at the local feed store, place them under your broody at night and remove the egg. Throw it as far away as you can. You do not want a rotten egg exploding anywhere that it can get on you. (Yes, this is the voice of experience speaking. Just had that happen today.

)

you might want to put your hand in a zip lock bag before you pick the egg up.
My DH didn't know to do that and had a nasty one blow up in his hand.

 

[darkfox907]

Chicken eggs hatch after approximately 21 days of incubation. A month is way too long, and that egg is probably rotten (hence the odor). I would buy a couple of chicks at the local feed store, place them under your broody at night and remove the egg. Throw it as far away as you can. You do not want a rotten egg exploding anywhere that it can get on you. (Yes, this is the voice of experience speaking. Just had that happen today.

)

What would happen if I simply took the egg away? no chick.((feed store just stopped selling chicks...))

P.s. She only sat on one egg? would I just need one chick?

 

[fionnandeburca]

She probably wouldn't realise that there are extra chicks

 

[bobbi-j]

If you just take the egg away, it's likely that she'll eventually just give up.

 

[darkfox907]

when you say "give up" do you mean she will never be broody or will she start up again next year?

 

[bobbi-j]

When I say "give up", I mean that she may instinctively figure out that chicks aren't going to happen this time around, and go back to her chickeny routine. Broodiness is a hormonal thing, not something a chicken decides to do or not to do. She doesn't look at another hen on a nest and think, "Huh, I want to have babies. I'm going to go broody, too!" The same way, if you take her eggs away and keep her off the nesting area, she's not going to say to herself, "Well, that didn't work so I'm never going to try it again!" I can't tell you if she will ever go broody again or not. But eventually the egg she is sitting on could explode, leaving your chicken, the coop, and surrounding area very messy and stinky.

 

[darkfox907]

When I say "give up", I mean that she may instinctively figure out that chicks aren't going to happen this time around, and go back to her chickeny routine. Broodiness is a hormonal thing, not something a chicken decides to do or not to do. She doesn't look at another hen on a nest and think, "Huh, I want to have babies. I'm going to go broody, too!" The same way, if you take her eggs away and keep her off the nesting area, she's not going to say to herself, "Well, that didn't work so I'm never going to try it again!" I can't tell you if she will ever go broody again or not. But eventually the egg she is sitting on could explode, leaving your chicken, the coop, and surrounding area very messy and stinky.

thank you for all your help!! the egg had a personal funeral in a very deep and far away place, this was my first time experiencing a broody hen and I will hopefully get fertile eggs next spring if she decides to go broody again.

 

[bobbi-j]

Glad you got rid of the egg before it exploded. Hopefully she will go broody again for you sometime and you can get some good, fertile eggs to put under her.