Too late for a "Broody"?

[frenchblackcopper]

Noticed last night while getting eggs,a purple b/s hen getting ready to lay.Twenty minutes later she was up and drinking so I took her egg. This afternoon the same hen was sitting again in the same spot as yesterday.I've had it happen before but this late in the season a hen laying a egg two nights in a row seems strange.Well tonight about 9pm I went to collect eggs and she was still there so I went to move her over while holding the flashlite and she was sitting on some old Lady Amherst eggs still in the corner laying area.I stopped collecting them 3 weeks ago when the male pheasants tail feathers fell out.She hissed and pecked at me while I moved her aside,so she must be broody.
Question,,is it crazy for a hen to go broody this late? The Purple BSSP male with her,Phonecian has began losing his train so I doubt anymore eggs but will be fertile anymore.But as luck would have it,my IB hens are still kicking out about 2 eggs a day an my IB Pied male is still strutting and has his train,as does Roadtrip with his bssp and pied hens.Would it be worth it this late to throw maybe 5-6 eggs under her at night and let nature take it course? I'm sure some eggs from these two pens are still fertile.

 

[Whittni]

It should be fine, just stop any other broody by the time it hits mid-August.

 

[casportpony]

It should be fine, just stop any other broody by the time it hits mid-August.

Just curious... Why stop them?

-Kathy

 

[kuntrygirl]

It should be fine, just stop any other broody by the time it hits mid-August.

Just curious... Why stop them?

-Kathy

x2

 

[frenchblackcopper]

She was still sitting there this morning. I think I'll give her some chicken eggs instead of pea eggs tonight and see if she will last 21 days.

 

[casportpony]

She was still sitting there this morning. I think I'll give her some chicken eggs instead of pea eggs tonight and see if she will last 21 days.

Why not give her a couple of pea eggs? If she gets off, toss them in the incubator and see if they still hatch.

-Kathy

 

[mustangkid]

Frenchy,
I know that it is thought that a breeding will only let a hen produce fertile eggs for 7-10 days, also that after a male drops his train that he is not fertile. I have had a pen that had a young two year old hen in it, male was six, droped his train about this week that year. The hen layed a clutch of 4 eggs the third week of Aug, last egg almost 4 weeks later, because of the hen and the fact I still had a incubator running I put them in just to see if they might be fertile. I hatched 3 of the 4. I am sure this is not the normal happening, but you never know untill you try.

As for letting the hen sit eggs, put some under her, hers or others. I let mine have there last eggs and have had them go broody as late as 2nd week of Aug and hatch chicks out here.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Kathy,if she abandons the eggs during the day, chances are they would be cold by the time I got home. I bought her from Brad Legg and she is 4 years old this summer. Mustangkid the fall weather can get cold-wet fast here. We set a new record temp on Sunday morning of 48 degrees here,,2 weeks ago it was 100 and 95% humidity. My concern with giving her pea eggs is it will be the end of Aug before they hatch so they will be rather small going into fall. I have 8-10 chicken eggs she can have. If they don't hatch, fine, don't really want more anyway except for my New Hampshire Reds.

 

[casportpony]

Okay, I get it, lol.

 

[Arbor]

I agree in not letting her sit on pea eggs. I had a pheasant broody for over a month, and two weeks into putting new eggs (lakenvelder chicken) under her, she upped and walked. I was too late to transfer the eggs into bator. Worst was all were fertile, and the chicken stopped laying till today.