what to do with a failed brood

[Rehoboth]

I have a broody hen (black copper Marans), but her clutch seems to have failed. She started with 12 eggs (from our flock). Over the first week, she seems to have eaten 8 of the eggs. At first we were afraid she had become cannibalistic and would have to go, but then she stopped eating them. Then I wondered whether the shells had been poor quality and broke under her, and then she ate them (we have struggled to get our hens enough calcium, and have had some issues with eggs breaking easily). Now she is on day 22 for those 4 eggs, and nothing.

Last year this hen hatched two clutches of eggs successfully (both were complete barnyard mixes that we got from nearby farms). The second clutch had three roosters (after some were given away). They became aggressive, so we culled the two most aggressive, and kept one. That one is certainly not aggressive. He lets us hold him, and we almost never see him mating the hens. Is it possible that the failed brood is his fault?

And, what to do now, if none of these 4 eggs hatch, she continues to want to sit on the nest, and my children really want a batch of chicks? Do you think if we replace these 4 eggs with a fresh dozen (perhaps from another farm so we have a different rooster as the father) she will stick with them for another 3 weeks? How bad is that for her health? (She hatched two broods in pretty short succession last summer, only 6 weeks between; we let her, because raccoons got the first batch; she looked pretty threadbare by the end of that, but recovered over the winter.)

 

[sourland]

Rather than have her set another 21 days, why not buy some day old chicks and foster them to her?

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x ... Better on her health
Curious as to what you're feeding, having the soft shell issue? You probably feeding a layer but are you also setting out in a separate dish Oyster Shells?
Give her a few more days, sometimes it takes longer to hatch ... IF they don't or she gives up on them, you may want to put some gloves on and do an eggtopsy. You'll know if Roo doing his job.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

Not related to your actual question, last summer I had a bunch of disappearing eggs and it turned out that the culprit was a rat snake. I wonder if you had one in your coop at the beginning of her incubation.

 

[mcdze]

in my experience that is a drawback of a 'nice' rooster .. he likely isnt mating with all of them, but if you figure out who and which eggs, its still better than putting up with a real hemerroid rooster ..

 

[Tonyroo]

If you care about the health of your broody hen, you probably shouldn't entice her to keep brooding. Brooding for extended period affects there health.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Over the first week, she seems to have eaten 8 of the eggs. At first we were afraid she had become cannibalistic and would have to go, but then she stopped eating them. Then I wondered whether the shells had been poor quality and broke under her, and then she ate them (we have struggled to get our hens enough calcium, and have had some issues with eggs breaking easily).

Were their bits and pieces of eggshell remaining and maybe wet spots or were the eggs totally gone with no evidence left behind? Did the eggs disappear one at a time or all at once? Maybe 4 one time and four a few days later? That might help us guess what could have happened.

Is it possible that the failed brood is his fault?

It is always possible but not that likely. Opening the unhatched eggs might tell you if they never started developing.

And, what to do now, Do you think if we replace these 4 eggs with a fresh dozen (perhaps from another farm so we have a different rooster as the father) she will stick with them for another 3 weeks? How bad is that for her health?

I personally would not do it. Before a hen even starts to lay she stores up excess fat. That excess fat is what she mostly lives off of while incubating. That way she can stay on the nest instead of having to be out looking for food and water. Different hens store up different amounts of fat. Different hens eat and drink more than others when they come off of the nest for their constitutional. There is no specific number of days when a hen runs out of that stored fat. Totally arbitrarily with no science behind it I use five weeks as my limit as to how long I let a hen incubate the eggs. Your hen may have enough fat reserves left to hatch another batch of eggs but I would not risk it.

I'd give her another 2 or 3 days since they can be that late. If she hasn't hatched by then I'd either break her from being broody or follow Sourland's suggest, get day old chicks for her to adopt.

 

[Rehoboth]

Thanks for all of your advice. I am looking for some chicks in the area. How young do they need to be to transfer successfully? Would 2 or 3 day old chicks work? Of course people don't post on craigslist saying they're going to have chicks in a few days

We feed the hens layer mix and oyster shell. I'm not sure why it's not adequate.

There were small bits of eggshell left behind, and wet bedding. 8 eggs disappeared gradually over the first week after she went broody, then these 4 have remained without being disturbed for the last two weeks. I'm not sure the exact timeline, we were trying not to disturb her too much, but my daughter was very curious and kept checking. She wasn't quite "set" for the first few days, she would get off to squawk at us and the other hens a lot, but then she became more attached to the nest, so I also wonder if they just weren't warm enough at the very beginning. Who knows, so many possibilities. She did such a good job last summer, we just assumed she would do the same thing this time.

 

[nuthatched]

Roosters really should not eat layer feed. What's the proteinon the layer? Lackluster feeds affect fertility and hatch rates.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks for all of your advice. I am looking for some chicks in the area. How young do they need to be to transfer successfully? Would 2 or 3 day old chicks work?

The younger they are the better. I'd want them to be no more than 3 days old.

We feed the hens layer mix and oyster shell. I'm not sure why it's not adequate.

You mentioned you were having trouble getting them enough calcium, not sure what is going on. Is that still going on with them having Layer and having oyster shell? Were the egg shells still thin when gathering them for incubation? Usually if a hen needs more calcium for their egg shells they know it and will eat enough oyster shell so they get enough, but occasionally one hen does not realize it or have something wrong with how her body processes calcium. It is possible a hen may still have thin shelled eggs even if you offer oyster shell, but that would be rare for that to be more than one or two of the hens in the flock.

If the egg shells are thin it is possible the eggs can break with the hen getting on or off of the nest. That can lead to the broody or some of the other hens eating eggs after they were broken.

She wasn't quite "set" for the first few days, she would get off to squawk at us and the other hens a lot, but then she became more attached to the nest, so I also wonder if they just weren't warm enough at the very beginning.

That is very possible. Sometimes hens switch to full broody mode almost instantaneously but some can dither back and force for days. I wait until a hen has been on the nest for two consecutive nights instead of sleeping in her normal sleeping stop before I give here hatching eggs.

Who knows, so many possibilities. She did such a good job last summer, we just assumed she would do the same thing this time.

I find that whether a hen is a first time broody or is an experienced broody means nothing. Each time can find very different.