Red Partridge Orpington informational hatch thread

[aart]

Should be interesting!

 

[K0k0shka]

Should be interesting!

Plot twist for sure. Do you think it would be a problem that the eggs are halfway baked by now? Will it mess her up? I don't trust her completely being that she's a first timer, and now the timing will be off as well...

 

[aart]

Plot twist for sure. Do you think it would be a problem that the eggs are halfway baked by now? Will it mess her up? I don't trust her completely being that she's a first timer, and now the timing will be off as well...

Hard to say....not sure just how attuned they are to 21 days,
they can't count after all
What day are eggs on?
I'd be more concerned about the thin shells holding up under a broody....
...and her flock mates who might want to 'share' the nest to lay their eggs.

 

[K0k0shka]

Hard to say....not sure just how attuned they are to 21 days,
they can't count after all
What day are eggs on?
I'd be more concerned about the thin shells holding up under a broody....
...and her flock mates who might want to 'share' the nest to lay their eggs.

The eggs are on day 12. I'm hoping that the sounds of the chicks peeping will trigger the correct behavior and she'll switch to lockdown and hatch mode when the time comes, even if it's in half the time. I'm most concerned about the thin shells, too... The good thing is that this broody is the hen most likely to want to nest share and to shove herself in with others. So now that she's in the nest already, the chances of nest sharing drop dramatically. The only other hen to want to nest share is her "sister" (the other Barnevelder). Both Barnies are very pushy when it comes to laying and often bug the Orps to try to get in there and eventually push them out. However, I have never ever seen the two Barnies sharing a nest together - I guess because they are both pushy, neither wants to back down and leave, so whoever was first gets to stay. The Orps on the other hand, are sweet little pushovers, even though they are twice the size of the Barnies, and always eventually leave the nest, even if they were there first. So I'm hoping that, with the biggest jerk already in the nest, nobody else will be able to get in, so their chances of piling up and crushing the eggs will be lower...

 

[K0k0shka]

She's off the nest... I know broodies leave the nest occasionally to eat/drink/poop/dustbathe, and I did find her in the dust bath rolling around, but now she's just hanging out with the other chickens preening herself in the run. I haven't swapped the eggs yet and am starting to lose faith in her... I've read that they can be off the nest for several hours and the eggs can still hatch, so I should probably chill and give her time, but I think I'll wait for her to get back to the nest before swapping the eggs (and hope I don't break her doing it)...

I'd made her scrambled eggs as a treat (with some for her friends as well) and when I went in the run with the treat bucket, she started making broody clucking sounds with her throat stretched out... Does that mean she's still broody after all?

 

[K0k0shka]

Here she is (the one higher up). Would she be hanging out like this off the nest if she was still broody?

 

[aart]

Would she be hanging out like this off the nest if she was still broody?

No, IMO.
She may just be getting warmed up, or 'changed' her mind'.
I wait until they've been on the nest for 3 days and nights before giving eggs.
Actually that's when I move them to the broody enclosure with fake eggs and wait another 24 hours to make sure they stick.

 

[K0k0shka]

No, IMO.
She may just be getting warmed up, or 'changed' her mind'.
I wait until they've been on the nest for 3 days and nights before giving eggs.
Actually that's when I move them to the broody enclosure with fake eggs and wait another 24 hours to make sure they stick.

I knew I couldn't trust her Somebody sat in her nest while she was out, and she isn't even trying to take it back. She's still hanging out outside. It's 3 days today, just not 3 nights yet... So close!

 

[K0k0shka]

3 hours later, she’s back on the nest! WTF? She announced it to the whole town, too...

 

[aart]

3 hours later, she’s back on the nest! WTF? She announced it to the whole town, too...

Well, they are fickle.
She'll probably go full on once the chicks are all hatched.
Broodies can be fascinatingly loverly, but they can also be a total PITA.