Too Cold?

[Sadie57]

My fuzzy legged red Bantam hen (no idea what she is) has gone broody again. She gets off the nest and allows others to lay another egg in her nest almost daily, I think. This is frustrating, as I only have 5 hens and now no eggs for us, but that's another story. My question is, as cold as it's been, can she possibly keep the eggs warm enough to hatch them? She's in wooden nesting box with very little hay. They keep kicking hay out faster than I can replace it. Nights below 35 degrees I turn on a heat lamp. Should I bring her and her nest in the house, somehow? She has set once before, last Fall, but it was warm, and I did remove her to the patio in a large dog crate. She hatched two, and of course, one is a rooster. Sigh....

 

[Ridgerunner]

As long as you collect the eggs daily you can still eat them. You won’t notice anything inside when you crack them. If you don’t collect them every day, well you might see something. Just mark the eggs you want her to have and remove the rest daily after the others have laid their egg.

Try reading this thread. Michigan, not Tennessee. Notice the temperatures, how many hatched, and how many made it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/947046/broody-in-michigan-winter

 

[Sadie57]

Tried marking the eggs, didn't dare use permanent marker for fear it would go through egg membrane. Consequently, the marking came off. I have let the girls set not knowing which eggs may be good or bad, but this has gone on since about March 3rd. Never candled an egg before, so I don't dare just throw the eggs out, I would feel like I'm committing murder. Can't even do that to a dying houseplant. Is it cruel to let them set this long?

 

[mortie]

Just because you've never candled before, doesn't mean you can't or won't be good at it. Just just need a really bright light and a really dark room and I bet you'll do fine. Those two items are KEY though.

I would candle the eggs, pick out a few of the most developed looking ones, mark them well and return them to the nest and toss the others. That is no more "committing murder" than allowing her to continue to sit in a manner that is unlikely to produce chicks anyway. If she hatches some chicks this way, she is likely to abandon the nest after some hatch leaving some eggs that might be several days behind the first ones due to the way the birds have been allowed to add eggs to the nest all along. Your best bet for things to go smoothly is to just identify a few that are the farthest along and let her sit on just those, removing any that are added to the clutch afterward.

 

[lazy gardener]

Is there any way you can block the nest off to keep the girls out of that nest? Perhaps put a wire enclosure directly in front of it which will give her room to get off, eat, drink, and poop, then get back to business? A little bit of permanent marker won't hurt. This discussion came up over a year ago, and a reader posted pics of her hatched eggs which were marked with laundry marker. This was enough proof to set my mind at ease re: using LM when needed, especially in a broody situation. I wouldn't go crazy and start "tattooing" my eggs, but, well placed ID marks would be fine.

I agree with PP. Candle those eggs to see what's going on in there. Remove the duds so she can have success with the rest. Mark those, and if you can, block any further additions to the nest.

 

[rossfam06]

My eggs dropped to 67 and were cool to the touch. They are at day 4 and were only that low for a couple of hours. Do you guys thinkeverything will be okay? Your post gave me hope. I just want to be sure.

 

[Sadie57]

What do you normally use for a light that's that bright? Tried a couple flashlights but wouldn't penetrate the shell. We will separate the two hens and put them in XLG. field crates, where they will have room to get up and drink and eat without others bothering them. Need to find homes for the rooster, it's not like we want anymore chickens right now anyway. Thanks for your help.

 

[lazy gardener]

Ross, I'd continue on with your hatch.

Sadie, I'd rig a regular light bulb, perhaps in a can with a hole at the top. Pad that hole with some felt or other soft material.