Questions for helping broody hen hatch some eggs

[chknmomma]

Hi
I am new to chickens this year. One of my hens (9 months old) went broody; so I got some fertilized eggs for her to sit. Now I have a few questions!!

I have her setup in our small, enclosed greenhouse. I made a little nest and home for her. She has her own area, nest box, food and water all very close.


1) It has been cold here - 30s during the day. Lows in the 20s. Windy. Does she need heat? I have yet to put heat on them and our weather has gotten into the mid-teens this winter, but it doesn't stay that cold for long.

2) Will she eat on her own? She has yet to get up and poop. She's been in there for 2 days now.

3) I've read about the mites easily getting broody hens. Do I need to treat her with something?

4) Can I let her out? If she gets up, how long can the eggs be without her?

4) Do I need to do anything else for her????

I am new to this BYC, but LOVE the information on here. Thank you so much for your time and help!!

 

[LarryPQ]

Quote:
If she is out of the wind, under cover, and seems to be doing well, you are probably ok without putting heat out there

2) Will she eat on her own? She has yet to get up and poop. She's been in there for 2 days now.

Yup, but since it is cold, you may want to put food & water within reach. Even if you just dump some food in front of her, it will minimize the amount of time she spends off the eggs.

3) I've read about the mites easily getting broody hens. Do I need to treat her with something?

You can sprinkle her with some sevin dust, or DE. If she has some on her and in the snest, she will "sprinkle" the chicks when they hatch.

4) Can I let her out? If she gets up, how long can the eggs be without her?

Not very long at those temps, but if she is a good broody, she will only get off to poop and drink.

4) Do I need to do anything else for her????

There are two #4s!

You can make sure she is safe from predators, give her a scrambled egg to keep her protien intake up, and keep your hands outta there!​

 

[midget_farms]

chknmomma pretty much said it all.

She wont want to leave the eggs except maybe 1 or 2x per day to eat & drink. The last week she may not leave that much.

No need for heat - but if you want to it wont hurt.

Mite shouldn't be an issue unless she already had them. Like stated before 7 dust. It is safe & works well.

The rest is instince & the hen knows what she is doing. Just keep an eye on them in the last week in case she decides she is done sitting. Which probably wont happen. they can sit for weeks waiting for an egg to hatch!

Congrats & welcome to the group. Before you know it you will be giving us advice!

 

[chknmomma]

Thank you so much for the info.

Where do I get sevin dust or DE? Is it Lowe's kind of thing or from the feed store?

Am I allowed to pull the eggs out from her and candle them? Not like I know what I'm doing but I see the great photos on here and want to learn through this process.

She finally got up to poo. It was diarrhea. Is this normal?

Now what do I do for the next 19 days?????

Hoping for babies!!!

 

[NonnasBabies]

You might need to pick her up and put her a few feet away from the nest so she can poop. I had to do that with my broody every other day. And she would litterly just poop and go right back!! I also had her food and water right there next to her!!

Good Luck!!

 

[midget_farms]

seven dust is a lowes product - or any hardware or garden store will carry it.

DE I don't know - I've never used it.

Yes - you can pull out eggs to candle - she won't like it & will peck you.

This isn't an issue in the first 18 days - but shouldn't be done after that - best not to move them too much then.

** be carefull putting the eggs back in. She will peck your hand & you don't want her to accidently put a hole in the egg!

An easy way to candle is to use a toilet paper roll. Have a bright flashlight in one end. Place the egg on the other. As long as the eggs are not too dark you will see a bunch!