Trying out a broody Hen. How many eggs?

[rascal66]

I saw one of my hens going broody about 2 days ago and it just clicked to me that I should try to set her up in her own area and try having her hatch some eggs!
She is half light Brahma and half silver wyandotte. I was able to successfully sit her in her new spot under some eggs. So far anyways.
I placed 13 eggs under her, but I'm worried if that might be too many? For now she hasn't adjusted herself just yet, and I only just set the eggs about an hour ago. She seems to be able to cover them all fine, but there is an egg or two that are under her but more towards the edge of her warmth/body (while still being under her feathers). Not sure if that's risky or not? Its still really cold in the nights/mornings. So wondering if I should just play it safe and have her sit on 10 instead of 13?
Any thoughts?

 

[sourland]

Given a well formed nest a hen of her size should be able to effectively cover/brood that many eggs. I would remove one, but that's only because I dislike the number '13'.

 

[rascal66]

Given a well formed nest a hen of her size should be able to effectively cover/brood that many eggs. I would remove one, but that's only because I dislike the number '13'.

well since you put it that way, I can agree I'll let her sit on 12 then Hope to post updates with her soon! While I'm at it, I'll share some pics.

 

[rascal66]

Given a well formed nest a hen of her size should be able to effectively cover/brood that many eggs. I would remove one, but that's only because I dislike the number '13'.

But now I'm curious... She of course didn't make this nest, I made it out of hay. Should it be more flat? Or have a deeper pit in the middle?

 

[sourland]

Flat is bad - well formed bowl shaped is good. Hay , especially grass hay, generally makes a perfect nest.

 

[rascal66]

Flat is bad - well formed bowl shaped is good. Hay , especially grass hay, generally makes a perfect nest.

Maybe I'll try to snap some pics of the nest I made too. For the most part I did make it somewhat bowl shaped. I'm just eager to try this out for once and see how she does

 

[rascal66]

Just my luck.... I thought I had her sitting and adjusted to her new spot... Today, she was gone, and went back to her 'old" nest... Her old nest is an egg roll out box, and she is sitting on nothing. I don't know how or why. I want to attempt it again but now I'm sort of worried it won't work out. I took the eggs i gave her and put them back in the fridge for eating. Chances are she hardly sat on them for too long for any real development. I'm sad. I was hoping to finally try out a broody.

 

[rascal66]

This was her in her new spot. She sat there for a good while but I guess she decided she wanted or needed to go back to sitting on nothing. :/

 

[CoChiChick]

I think all and all your nest looks fine. Those broody girls can be stubborn. I have my first ever broody sitting as well, but I will share what worked for me. Set up the location for a move. Wait until dark, and move your girl to her new, secure location then. Try to make sure it's somewhere dark and quiet.
My gal is sitting in a rabbit hutch where I have a tub (the kind used for washing dishes that cost just a couple $ at the store) inside a modified crate. The crate was originally supposed to be a nest for my ducks but they preferred the ground. :-/ The reason that I did this was that the tub itself wasn't very stable. It was easy for my sussex to dump it over.
After attempting a couple day time moves, and ending up with a cracked egg in the process, I waited until her 3rd night of sitting, a couple hours after dark, and moved her to the hutch brooder. I carefully moved a few eggs, and then moved her, and placed the rest of the eggs in with her. She settled in for the night after that. Our hatch has a door that can be open or folded up and locked, so I was sure to lock her in for the night, just to encourage her to stay there after the sun came up.

About mid-morning the next morning I went out and opened the door for her to stretch her legs, poop, and eat. She did all of these and attempted a return to the nest, but was much, much easier to coax this time. I just gently picked her up and showed her the eggs (which are still in the main coop, just in the hutch) and she went right in to settle down. Same this morning, and again she headed to the original nest box, but was easily swayed to head in to the broody area. I also do have food and water in her brooder area, she just likes to come out and have a quick run around, drink where the flock drinks, and due her morning poop. Seems to be working thus far.

 

[rascal66]

I think all and all your nest looks fine. Those broody girls can be stubborn. I have my first ever broody sitting as well, but I will share what worked for me. Set up the location for a move. Wait until dark, and move your girl to her new, secure location then. Try to make sure it's somewhere dark and quiet.
My gal is sitting in a rabbit hutch where I have a tub (the kind used for washing dishes that cost just a couple $ at the store) inside a modified crate. The crate was originally supposed to be a nest for my ducks but they preferred the ground. :-/ The reason that I did this was that the tub itself wasn't very stable. It was easy for my sussex to dump it over.
After attempting a couple day time moves, and ending up with a cracked egg in the process, I waited until her 3rd night of sitting, a couple hours after dark, and moved her to the hutch brooder. I carefully moved a few eggs, and then moved her, and placed the rest of the eggs in with her. She settled in for the night after that. Our hatch has a door that can be open or folded up and locked, so I was sure to lock her in for the night, just to encourage her to stay there after the sun came up.

About mid-morning the next morning I went out and opened the door for her to stretch her legs, poop, and eat. She did all of these and attempted a return to the nest, but was much, much easier to coax this time. I just gently picked her up and showed her the eggs (which are still in the main coop, just in the hutch) and she went right in to settle down. Same this morning, and again she headed to the original nest box, but was easily swayed to head in to the broody area. I also do have food and water in her brooder area, she just likes to come out and have a quick run around, drink where the flock drinks, and due her morning poop. Seems to be working thus far.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience in depth! I'd love to hear more if you'd like to keep us updated. They really are stubborn huh?
I just had another hen go Broody, so I might try a similar approach. Because I have a barn with available stalls, I was thinking of trying to set her in the stalls? Really want to try them out! Thank you again for sharing those tips