Southern heat and broody silkie

[Bigandlittles]

My silkie is currently sitting on eggs. It is extremely hot here in south louisiana and I am curious if it is healthy for her to be sitting on eggs right now. How long will it take for them to start hatching and will the heat have any effect on that? My other hen has laid an egg in the same box and she scooted that one under her too. She has been sitting on them for 6 days now. Any suggestions or advice is welcome.

 

[MarlaMac]

Your hen will continue to "collect" eggs if you allow her to. This will cause a staggered hatch and the risk of momma leaving eggs that do not hatch withing 2-3 days. If this happens, you will need to be prepared for the loss of almost hatched chicks or try to hatch them in an incubator. My broody left 4 eggs after 3 days, but before she left, she showed the chicks how to scratch in the lay box. I think that violent motion killed the chicks. When I put them in the incubator they were developed eggs, but none hatched.

I have had three broods hatch in the heat of summer - hot here in Central Texas too. I always took care to make sure they were hydrated by offering them watermelon in the lay box, which they would gobble up. I also offered a little extra protein in the form of hard poached eggs.

I don't know if the heat can change the cycle, mine have gone 21 days with every hatch, even in the heat of summer.

Try to make the lay box as cool as possible - vented, a small breeze - either natural or a small fan as long as there is not a lot of dust in the coop to bother her respiratory system (I don't use bedding in the summer except a light smattering of chopped straw over a yoga mat in the lay boxes so I can get away with a fan).

Good luck.