Sitting hen

[Pauline]

Hi, and hello, i am new here but hope i will find the answers to my questions, i have a hen sitting eggs, she laid one of her own on 1 st Aug, since then i have put 1 or 2 under her every day, she now has 8 eggs under her, she has laid no more of her own, i have read that a hen will lay her eggs, then start sitting and that the eggs will hatch with in 3 days, will my hen continue sitting after the 3 days, as the eggs i have put in are all with in a day of each other, so the first egg should hatch on 22 Aug and the last on 28 Aug, also, for the next one of my hen's that goes broody, do i do the same as this time, that is if all goes well, or do i keep the eggs i want to hatch untill i have 7 or 8 and put them all under her at the same time, if that is so, where do i keep the eggs, i presume i can not put them in the fridge so maybe, just in a bowl on the counter or something, i would appreciate any offer of advice, i have had chickens now for some 4 years but only purchased my sitters 6 months ago so have not had sitting chickens before, i take her off her nest daily, for the time it takes her to eat, drink and go toilet, i take the nest out and cover it with a bit of straw to keep the eggs warm, when i put the nest back in she immediatly sits back on it, some times she jumps in and sits before i have her nest in place.

Thanks

Pauline

 

[ozark hen]

Welcome Pauline

 

[Pauline]

Thanks for that, i lift her, as she sat for 4 days and did not move, i know this, as the water leval did not move and the food i had put her had not been touched, when i did loift her it took her a while t oget her balance and then she drank and drank and had a good old feast, also, she had not been to the toilet and there was no mess in the nest, she does not mind and goes happily back on her nest, i am maybe an over protective first time mom but i really care about my animals and like most, always try and make sure there comfy and have clean beds, i am going to buy some flee dusting powder as my cock has a bit of red on his feet,

 

[Southernbelle]

Run a search for broody hen in the forums and you should fine a ton of advice!

Dusting her and the nest with parasite control is a good idea, since she won't get up to dust bathe while she's sitting.

Broody hens only get up about 1x/day to eat/drink/poop and most people are surprised at just how huge that poop is!

The eggs will hatch in 3 weeks, not 3 days. It takes 21 days to hatch from the time she started sitting on them (not from when they were laid).

Do you have her in her own pen? Sometimes the other chickens will bug her, so moving her to her own space is a good idea.

Good luck!

 

[Pauline]

Yes

she is in her own pen, and yes, it takes 21 days to hatch the eggs,

i was just concerned as i read, it takes from 24 hours to 3 days to hatch her intire nest, i am worried, as i have placed the eggs in over a period of a week, so as i said, the first should hatch 21 Aug ish and the last 28 ish, will she sit for a whole week while they are hatching. if she laid the eggs herself, she would lay them all and then start sitting them, hence, they would all be hatched within 3 days, not a week.

I have just cleaned my other pens out and the rabbits, i think i should dust all the pens, i have some baby chickens in with the rabbits, they are all very playful, with ramps and logs in their park, most days even my 2 cats go in to play, it is a wonderful scene, cats chasing rabbits, rabbits chasing cats, up and down the ramps and over the logs, then they all lie down together and have a breather, then play again, i think it would be best to up the doses of de fleeing my cats also.

 

[Pauline]

while cleaning the chucks out, if the flees jump on us will they live, on us, in our hair or in our clothes, or skin, and, if my cats get them on them, will they live on them and in turn live in my house if they fall of the cats when they come in

 

[Southernbelle]

I've never dealt with your situation, but it all depends...

I think if you remove the first wave of baby chicks and set them up in a brooder away from the hen then she should stay committed to her nest. After they get a bunch of chicks, some will abandon the nest because they'll assume the eggs that haven't hatched are duds. When all have hatched that are going to, you can either take them all away from her or put the first batch of chicks back in with her.

Fleas!

I hate fleas! A lot of people on here swear by food-grade DE (diastomous earth - I'm sure my spelling is way off!) for pests in the barn. It controls parasites, but it's completely safe for them to eat and be around. I haven't used it because it's not available in my area.

I used to work for a vet, so I had to learn a lot about fleas! The adults usually jump on a host long enough to get a blood meal and hang around for a bit, then they fall off. They need a blood meal about every 3 days. If you happen to carry a few buggers from the barn into the house with you, they'll fall off into your carpet, lay their eggs in there and when they get hungry again they'll hop on you or any other warm-blooded critter in the house, like your cats. They breed like mad! We use Frontline Plus from the vet on our dogs to keep the fleas from getting in the house on the dogs. Once they get in the house, they're a real pain to get rid of!

 

[Pauline]

Thankyou

,

I know dog and cat flees can become an infestation, i was not sure if Chicken flees are the same but i suppose they are, after all, flees are flees, i will get a bomb from the Vets or the Pharmacy and let it off in the house, unfortunatly, i have no dog, i had to have her put to sleep on Saturday, she was old and had a cancer tumor, i have my 2 cats, 4 rabbits, 10 or so chickens, 6 ducks, 2 goats 2, turkeys, 8 sheep, but i do miss my dog,

I think i will leave her with the eggs, its her first time hatching and my first time waiting for some to hatch so i think i will play it by ear, i have brought some dusting powder and some anti flee, puce, tique and lord knows what else disinfectant today, i will clean the pens and dust them out tomorrow, along with her nest, and will do it weekly till i see less flees as when i take out the straw they all seem to come from nowhere, tiny little black things, so i will know if the dusting and cleaning is working if i see less, or none at all , i brought a spray thing so i can make the disinfectant up and spray it all over, i can close the doors on the pens till it has dried out, most of the chucks potter about all day anyway,we have nearly 4 acres, so they have plenty of places to go, it won't make much difference if there pens are shut, i will dust carefully round my sitting hen's eggs so as not to move them as i don't know when she turns them, when she goes back on the eggs the powder will go on her, killing any flees on her.

As for my cats, i can't keep them out the park , much as i try, they really enjoy playing with the rabbits, so they are going to get a good dousing also, whether they like it or not,

Thanks again

Pauline

 

[Pauline]

Help please, urgent

My hen has a big pertruding buldge at her rear end, her motion was stuck to her which i have just cleaned, which was when i noticed the buldge, what are the chances of it being an egg stuck, she has not started laying yet although, another, the same bread and about the same age has, and is sitting eggs, can an egg get stuck and if so, and it is, what do i do

Please, someone reply as soon as possible

pauline

My hen died last night

 

[Featherland]

Sorry that your hen died. Did you figure out what happened?