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Broody hen.

 
E Welt
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posted 8 years ago
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I have a hen that’s broody. She’s been sitting on the eggs since between  June 7,8,9 2018. Every day I come home from work she’s sitting on other eggs.  I don’t know if there something wrong With the eggs she’s sitting on or what to do?? Don’t wanna throw eggs out if they could  possibly still hatch. Its first time time with a broody hen.
 
Mike Haasl
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Hi E, welcome to Permies!  

When you say "she's sitting on other eggs", do you mean additional eggs in the same clutch or different eggs somewhere else?  

If she's leaving the original eggs to sit on another nest, I think the original eggs must either be duds that she doesn't want to spend time on or perfectly good eggs that she neglected and they're now bad.

My hen tried to leave the clutch I gave her to return to an empty nest box so I had to put her and the eggs in a cage.  All the healthy chicks hatched on day 21 (or maybe 22).  So if it's been much longer than that, I think the game is over.

If you want to try new eggs with her it might be good to give her a break for a while since my hen didn't eat much while sitting.

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E Welt
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She’s getting up and sitting on eggs in another box instead of staying on the original eggs.
 
E Welt
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Their still warm to the touch and stuff but I think it’s been longer than 21 days just don’t want to throw away good eggs if they are still good
 
Mike Haasl
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Well, I guess it can't hurt to let her sit on them another couple days but I'd give up on them after that.

Sorry for a rather basic question, but the eggs are fertilized, right?

I make a Maple Syrup instructional movie! Check it out HERE
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See me in a movie building a massive wood staircase:Low Tech Lab Movie

 
E Welt
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I have one rooster and 16 hens and this is my first time with a broody hen so I’m not even sure. I candled them and from what I could tell yes.
 
Mike Haasl
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Well, you're ahead of me.  I have two roosters (one does all the mating) and 10 hens.  I didn't candle them but based on romantic encounters per day, I was pretty sure they were fertile

I make a Maple Syrup instructional movie! Check it out HERE
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See me in a movie building a massive wood staircase:Low Tech Lab Movie

 
E Welt
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yes my rooster is a busy man. I’m sure they are fertilized any how.
 
E Welt
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My broody hen isent aggressive at all when I look under her for eggs. But her belly has no feathers and sits on the eggs all the time. I know she is broody but the eggs still aren’t hatching. I guess I’ll give her another day or so then start with some new eggs. I know you say I should wait to let her go broody again but what if she just starts to sit again?
 
Mike Haasl
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I've just heard that if you have a broody hen that sits for 21 days on eggs, you should give her some time off to put some meat back on her bones before you make her sit for another 21 days.  In my case, our hen was sitting in the nest box for probably a month before we let her sit on eggs so she had a lot of time where she wasn't eating much.  

I guess if she wants to sit, let her sit on another fresh clutch of eggs.  You didn't refrigerate the eggs before she sat on them, right?

I make a Maple Syrup instructional movie! Check it out HERE
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
See me in a movie building a massive wood staircase:Low Tech Lab Movie

 
E Welt
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No all the eggs are fresh but good new one egg hatched and 3 was still born so far so it’s coming along some did hatch i dont know what to do with the ones that are dead
 
E Welt
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Here’s one baby
92147988-A0EB-4E06-BB72-D9D1B1800A62.jpeg
[Thumbnail for 92147988-A0EB-4E06-BB72-D9D1B1800A62.jpeg]
 
Mike Haasl
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I'd get the dead ones out of there as soon as reasonably possible.  

I make a Maple Syrup instructional movie! Check it out HERE
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
See me in a movie building a massive wood staircase:Low Tech Lab Movie

 
E Welt
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I had to move the hen and baby and rest of her eggs somewhere else how we have the box set up the baby can’t get out and drink. So I’m now just waiting on the rest of the eggs todo something.
 
Mike Haasl
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Ok, hopefully someone else chimes in if I'm off base here.  But I think new chicks are good for a day or two without food or water.  Just in case, can you put a bowl of water in there with a smaller bowl upside down in it (like an island) so the chick or hen can get a drink?

I make a Maple Syrup instructional movie! Check it out HERE
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
See me in a movie building a massive wood staircase:Low Tech Lab Movie

 
E Welt
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From what I read that they don’t eat because when they hatch they eat the shell and stuff but they need water within the first 24 hours but mine is trying to but not drink
 
Marion Kaye
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Healthy newly hatched chicks will have a reserve of yolk inside them, as well as being well hydrated. They also slep a lot for the first few days, but even if the chicks don't need water, the hen does!

The cheeping of the chicks will keep the hen's attention more than eggs. While it's true that some hens are better at doing things naturally than others, I have only once seen a broody prefer eggs to chicks, and that was because only one hatched.
Sometimes chicks can hatch days apart, even after the hen has mostly left the nest and taken the chicks to water etc. A bit of cooling now and then is more normal than the constant even heat of an incubator.

When you say three 'stillborn' do you mean out of the shell?  That is very odd for several reasons, including some you won't want to hear about!
 
E Welt
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This is my first time so I’m not really sure? They was not totally out of the shell but it was a baby bird in the eggs. They all looked different except for this yellow one that looks like the hen. That still alive
 
E Welt
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The hen and the eggs and chick is in their own coop now with water and food so the hen is drinking and eating.
 
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